Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003

An offshore facility is a facility, located in an offshore area, that is used in the extraction of petroleum from the seabed or its subsoil with equipment on, or forming part of, the facility, and includes:

any structure, located in the offshore area, used in operations or activities associated with, or incidental to, activities of that kind; and

any vessel, located in the offshore area, used in operations or activities associated with, or incidental to, activities of that kind.

A FPSO located in an offshore area is an offshore facility.

A FSU located in an offshore area is an offshore facility.

A FPSO or FSU is both a ship and an offshore facility. As it is an offshore facility, the Secretary may declare it to be a security regulated offshore facility. If this happens, the ship ceases to be a security regulated ship.

However, a ship is not an offshore facility, and does not form part of an offshore facility, if it is:

an offtake tanker; or

a tug or an anchor handler; or

a ship used to supply an offshore facility, or otherwise travel between an offshore facility and the shore; or

a FPSO; or

a FSU.

An offshore facility does not include any pipeline that is beneath the low water mark.

A mobile offshore drilling unit is not an offshore facility, and does not form part of an offshore facility.

In this Act, an offshore area is an area in:

Australian waters; or

the exclusive economic zone of Australia (including its external Territories); or

the sea over the continental shelf of Australia (including its external Territories).