In the application of the provisions of this Regulation, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated next to each of them unless the context of the text clearly indicates otherwise.

• 1. State: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• 2. Maritime Authority: The Public Transport Authority represented in the Maritime Transport Sector or one of its branches or representatives or those authorized by it to act on its behalf.

• 3. Organization: The International Maritime Organization (IMO).

• 4. General Secretary: The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization.

• 5. Treaty: The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974 and its amendments (under the 1978 Protocol and the 1988 Protocol of the decisions of the International Maritime Organization in force) and any reference to the Treaty shall also mean a reference to the amendments at the same time.

• 6. Regulations: The provisions of the texts in the appendices of the Treaty and the codes attached to it.

• 7. Regulation: The Implementing Regulation of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974 and its amendments.

• 8. Passenger: Any person on board the ship other than:

  • - The captain and crew members or other persons working or employed in any capacity to perform work on board the ship.

  • - Children under one year of age.

• 9. Approved Classification Societies: The classification societies approved by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to inspect and classify ships flying the Saudi flag according to their types and purposes on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom and authorized by the Maritime Authority under a delegation agreement.

• 10. Company: The legal entity responsible for operating the ship and carrying out all other tasks and responsibilities under the agreement, whether it is the owner, manager, or charterer without crew.

• 11. Passenger Ship: A ship that carries more than twelve passengers. 

• 12. Cargo Ship: Any ship other than a passenger ship and fishing vessels.

• 13. Tankers: A cargo ship built or equipped to carry bulk liquid cargoes that may be hazardous or to transport oils or chemicals. 

• 14. Fishing Vessel: A vessel used for catching fish or other living marine resources. 

• 15. New Ship: A ship for which a construction contract has been concluded or a ship whose construction has been extended or that is at a similar stage of construction at the date the relevant texts come into force or thereafter, or for which a specific delivery date has been set according to these texts.

• 16. Existing Ship: A ship that does not fall under the category of new ships.

• 17. Roll-on/Roll-off Passenger Ship: A ship that simultaneously transports passengers and vehicles.

• 18. Roll-on/Roll-off Cargo Ship: A ship that simultaneously transports cargo and vehicles.

• 19. Marine Mile: A unit of length equal to 1852 meters.

• 20. Anniversary: The day and month of each year that coincide with the expiration date of the relevant certificate.

• 21. Territorial Waters: The waters representing the territorial sea of the Kingdom in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 and the Marine Areas System approved by Royal Decree No. M/6 dated 18/1/1433 AH.

• 22. Mandatory Certificates: Certificates issued to ships after completing the necessary inspection to verify the ship's compliance with all requirements necessary to obtain the relevant certificate.

• 23. Inspection: The examination of the ship and/or its structure and/or any part of its components or engines or equipment or devices to verify its navigability and the availability of all conditions and requirements in accordance with the legislation and international maritime agreements ratified by the Kingdom that have entered into force internationally, and to prepare a report describing its technical condition after the inspection.

• 24. International Voyage: Any maritime journey from any port in the Kingdom to a port located outside the Kingdom, or vice versa.

• 25. Short International Voyage: An international voyage during which the ship does not depart from the port or place where passengers and crew can be safely disembarked by more than (200) miles, and the distance between the last port of call in the country from which the voyage began and the final intended port or return voyage must not exceed (600) miles, with the final intended port being the last port of call in the scheduled voyage from which the ship begins its return journey to the country from which it departed.

• 26.Special Voyages: Those voyages in which passengers are transported for special purposes such as Hajj and Umrah.

• 27. Helicopter Landing Area: An area on board the ship designated for the emergency or incidental landing of helicopters and not designated for routine operations of these helicopters.

• 28. Heavy Load Lifting Area by Helicopter: An area designated for transporting personnel or supplies by helicopter from or to the ship while the helicopter hovers above the ship's deck.

• 29. Polar Waters Navigation Code: The international code for ships operating in polar waters issued by the International Maritime Safety Committee Decision No. (MSC.385) dated November 21, 2014, in the form that may be amended by the organization.

• 30. Ballast Voyages: Those in which the ship's tanks are filled with seawater to improve stability and maintain balance and ability to withstand navigational conditions while sailing.

• 31. Ballast Tanks:
   Are the compartments located beneath or on the sides of the ship that are filled with liquids to maintain the ship's stability and make it seaworthy. Any tank on board the ship or compartment of the tanker is usually used to carry a weight of seawater, and when these compartments or tanks are not connected to the loading system, they are referred to as independent ballast tanks or systems.

• 32. Fuel Oil: Any oil transported on ships and used as fuel in the ship's propulsion engines that transport such oil and in auxiliary machinery.

• 33. Flag State Control Officer (Inspector): The person responsible for monitoring and inspecting ships flying the state flag.

• 34. Port State Control Officer (Inspector): The person responsible for monitoring and inspecting ships flying a foreign flag present in the ports of the Kingdom or in its territorial waters.

• 35. Government of Another State: The competent maritime authority in that state that is a party to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.

• 36.Code of Dangerous Goods: Refers to the international code for dangerous goods adopted by the organization, which identifies goods that individually or collectively pose a risk to passengers or crew or threaten the ship due to the nature, quantity, or method of loading of those goods, including all materials specified in the Treaty from Chapter VII (VII) as dangerous goods, and its amendments.

• 37. International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS code): Refers to the international code for the management of ship security operations and pollution prevention, adopted by the International Maritime Organization through General Assembly Resolution No. (18) A.741 issued on November 4, 1993, and its amendments, and the guidelines for its implementation adopted by Resolution No. (26) A.1022.

• 38.International Ship Security Code (ISPS code): Refers to the international code and port facilities adopted by the organization at the government conference on December 12, 2002, and entered into force in 2004.

• 39. Fire Safety Code: Refers to the international code for fire safety systems adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee of the organization by Resolution No. (73) 98.MSC.

• 40.Riyadh Memorandum of Understanding: A regional agreement between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries for the inspection and control of ships to achieve safety, security, efficiency, and maritime shipping in the Gulf region, signed by the Kingdom in June 2004.

1. This Regulation aims to establish the executive mechanism for the provisions, requirements, and conditions included in the Treaty, in order to achieve the objectives of the Treaty, which are the safety of lives at sea. The maritime authority shall monitor the implementation of this Regulation.

2. The competent authority undertakes to coordinate with the relevant entities to implement the provisions of the current Regulation, the Agreement, the codes, amendments, and related decisions through circulars or otherwise.

3. The agreements, codes, executive mechanisms, decisions, and amendments adopted by the International Maritime Organization that have entered into force, as well as the circulars issued by the maritime authority, shall be considered complementary and supplementary provisions to this Regulation.

1. This Regulation and Treaty apply to the following ships that undertake international voyages:

• A- Ships flying the Saudi flag wherever they may be found.

• B- Foreign ships when present in Saudi ports or territorial waters and foreign ships operating in the Kingdom.

• C- Cargo ships with a gross tonnage of less than (500) tons that do not undertake international voyages.

2. The following are exempt from the application of the provisions of this Regulation:

• A- Warships and troop carriers.

• B- Ships not equipped with mechanical propulsion.

• C- Primitive wooden ships.

• D- Recreational yachts that do not engage in any commercial activity.

• E- Fishing vessels.

The maritime authority must send the following to the organization:

• 1. Models of the certificates issued under the provisions of the Treaty for dissemination to the parties of the Agreement.

• 2. Texts of the legislations, regulations, decisions, and instructions related to the implementation of the Treaty and its amendments.

• 3. A list of the names of the accredited classification bodies authorized by the maritime authority on its behalf to conduct inspections and issue the required certificates under the Treaty for dissemination to the parties of the Agreement.

• 4. A copy of the agreements for the organization to disseminate to the parties of the Agreement when entering into a bilateral or regional agreement or memoranda of understanding with any party to the Treaty that includes specific rules under the Agreement on the Safety of Life at Sea.

When an incident occurs involving a vessel flying the flag of the Kingdom and results in damage that affects the safety of the vessel or the efficiency of its systems or operational performance standards, the following must be done:

1. The company or its representative must notify the maritime authority of this incident at the earliest opportunity.

2. The maritime authority shall conduct the appropriate investigation to determine the procedure and necessary measures to ensure the vessel's compliance with safety requirements, including conducting an additional inspection or implementing other oversight measures in accordance with the regulations set forth in Chapter One of the Agreement, taking into account the guidelines issued by the International Maritime Organization and relevant codes, regulations, and internal texts.

3. If the vessel is in a port of another State that is a party to the Agreement, the master or owner of the vessel must immediately notify the competent authorities of the port State, which will coordinate with the maritime authority to take the necessary action, whether it be an investigation or inspections.

4. The maritime authority shall coordinate and cooperate with the maritime administrations of the States Parties to conduct an investigation into any maritime incident involving foreign vessels while they are in the territorial waters of the Kingdom and subject to the provisions of the Agreement.

5. The maritime authority shall send information related to the incident and a copy of the reports, recommendations, and results of such investigations to the organization.

1. The maritime authority may grant an exemption to any vessel flying the flag of the Kingdom from any of the provisions of (Chapter II "Part One and Two") II-1, II-2, and (Chapter III) III, and (Chapter IV) IV, which may significantly hinder the continuation of research to develop these features and their use in vessels operating on international voyages.

2. In the event that the maritime authority grants any exemption under paragraph (1) of this article, the vessel must meet all safety requirements that the maritime authority deems necessary, guided by the same level of treaty requirements as a minimum, ensuring the public safety of the vessel and accepted by the maritime administrations of the contracting states that it will visit.

3. The vessel is granted a certificate called the Exemption Certificate when exempted under the provisions of the treaty and these regulations.

4. The maritime authority shall send the organization the details of these exemptions and their reasons.

1. The maritime authority may permit the installation of equipment, materials, devices, or tools on a vessel that differ from those required by the Treaty, provided that the performance effectiveness of such materials, equipment, or tools on the vessel itself is satisfactory and that the required performance is at least equivalent to the requirements stipulated in the Agreement.

2. The maritime authority is obligated to inform the organization of the details of what has been undertaken in accordance with the previous paragraph for dissemination to the contracting states of the Agreement.