[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 33, Volume 2]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 33CFR140.10]

[Page 134-136]
 
                TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
 
   CHAPTER I--COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 140--GENERAL--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart A--General
 
Sec. 140.10  Definitions.

    As used in this subchapter:
    Act means the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 (43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq.), as amended by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 
Amendments of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-372).
    Approved means approved by the Commandant, unless otherwise 
indicated.
    Attending vessel means a vessel which is moored close to and readily 
accessible from an OCS facility for the purpose of providing power, 
fuel, or other services to the operation being conducted on the 
facility.
    Commandant means Commandant of the Coast Guard or that person's 
authorized representative.
    Development means those activities which take place following 
discovery of minerals in paying quantities, including, but not limited 
to, geophysical activity, drilling, and platform construction, and which 
are for the purpose of ultimately producing the minerals discovered.
    District Commander means an officer who commands a Coast Guard 
District described in part 3 of this chapter or that person's authorized 
representative.
    Exploration means the process of searching for minerals, including, 
but not limited to, (1) geophysical surveys where magnetic, gravity, 
seismic, or other systems are used to detect or imply the presence of 
such minerals, and (2) any drilling, whether on or off known geological 
structures, including the drilling of a well in which a discovery of oil 
or natural gas in paying quantities is made and the drilling of any 
additional delineation well after the discovery which is needed to 
delineate any reservoir and to enable the lessee to determine whether to 
proceed with development and production.
    Fixed OCS facility means a bottom founded OCS facility permanently 
attached to the seabed or subsoil of the OCS, including platforms, guyed 
towers, articulated gravity platforms, and other structures.
    Floating OCS facility means a buoyant OCS facility securely and 
substantially moored so that it cannot be moved without a special 
effort. This term includes tension leg platforms and permanently moored 
semisubmersibles or shipshape hulls but does not include mobile offshore 
drilling units and other vessels.
    Investigating officer means a person assigned by the Commandant, a 
District Commander, or an Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection, to 
conduct an investigation of an accident, casualty, or other incident.

[[Page 135]]

    Manned facility means an OCS facility on which people are routinely 
accommodated for more than 12 hours in successive 24 hour periods.
    Manned platform means a fixed OCS facility on which people are 
routinely accommodated for more than 12 hours in successive 24 hour 
periods.
    Marine inspector means a person designated as such by an Officer in 
Charge, Marine Inspection, to perform inspections of units to determine 
whether or not the requirements of laws administered by the Coast Guard 
and of Coast Guard regulations are met.
    Minerals includes oil, gas, sulphur, geopressured-geothermal and 
associated resources, and all other minerals which are authorized by an 
Act of Congress to be produced from ``public lands'' as defined in 
section 103 of the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1702(e)).
    Minerals Management Service inspector or MMS inspector means an 
individual employed by the Minerals Management Service who inspects 
fixed OCS facilities on behalf of the Coast Guard to determine whether 
the requirements of this subchapter are met.
    Mobile offshore drilling unit or MODU means a vessel, other than a 
public vessel of the United States, capable of engaging in drilling 
operations for exploration or exploitation of subsea resources.
    Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection means a person who commands a 
Marine Inspection Zone described in Part 3 of this chapter and who is 
immediately responsible for the performance of duties with respect to 
inspections, enforcement, and administration of regulations governing 
units.
    Operator means--(1) In the case of a vessel, a charterer by demise 
or any other person who is responsible for the operation, manning, 
victualing, and supplying of the vessel; or
    (2) In the case of an OCS facility, the operator as defined in 30 
CFR 250.2(gg).
    Outer Continental Shelf or OCS means all submerged lands lying 
seaward and outside of the area of ``lands beneath navigable waters'' as 
defined in section 2(a) of the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301(a)) 
and of which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the United States and 
are subject to its jurisdiction and control.
    OCS activity means any offshore activity associated with exploration 
for, or development or production of, the minerals of the Outer 
Continental Shelf.
    OCS facility means any artificial island, installation, or other 
device permanently or temporarily attached to the subsoil or seabed of 
the Outer Continental Shelf, erected for the purpose of exploring for, 
developing, or producing resources therefrom, or any such installation 
or other device (other than a ship or vessel) for the purpose of 
transporting such resources. The term includes mobile offshore drilling 
units when in contact with the seabed of the OCS for exploration or 
exploitation of subsea resources. The term does not include any pipeline 
or deepwater port (as the term ``deepwater port'' is defined in section 
3(10) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1502)).
    Owner means a person holding title to or, in the absence of title, 
other indicia of ownership of a unit; however, this does not include a 
person who holds indicia of ownership primarily to protect a security 
interest in the unit and does not participate in the management or 
operation of the unit.
    Person means an individual, association, partnership, consortium, 
joint venture, private, public, or municipal firm or corporation, or a 
government entity.
    Person in charge means the master or other individual designated as 
such by the owner or operator under Sec. 146.5 of this subchapter or 46 
CFR 109.107.
    Personnel means individuals who are employed by leaseholders, permit 
holders, operators, owners, contractors, or subcontractors and who are 
on a unit by reason of their employment.
    Production means those activities which take place after the 
successful completion of any means for the removal of minerals, 
including, but not limited to, such removal, field operations, transfer 
of minerals to shore, operation monitoring, maintenance, and workover.
    Rebuilt means having had substantial alteration or reconstruction of 
the hull or principal structural component.

[[Page 136]]

    Standby vessel means a vessel meeting the requirements of Part 143, 
Subpart E, of this chapter and specifically designated in an Emergency 
Evacuation Plan under Sec.Sec. 146.140 or 146.210 of this chapter to 
provide rapid evacuation assistance in the event of an emergency.
    Unit means any OCS facility, vessel, rig, platform, or other vehicle 
or structure, domestic or foreign.
    Unmanned facility means an OCS facility, other than a floating 
facility or mobile offshore drilling unit, which is not a manned 
facility even though it may be continuously serviced by an attending 
vessel.
    Unmanned platform means a fixed, bottom-founded OCS facility which 
is not a manned facility even though it may be continuously serviced by 
an attending vessel.
    Vessel means every description of watercraft or other artificial 
contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation 
on water.

[CGD 78-160, 47 FR 9376, Mar. 4, 1982, as amended by CGD 79-077, 51 FR 
25059, July 10, 1986; CGD 84-098b, 54 FR 21571, May 18, 1989; USCG-2001-
9045, 67 FR 5916, Feb. 7, 2002]