#### § 160.3 Definitions.

For the purposes of this subchapter:

*Bulk* means material in any quantity that is shipped, stored, or handled without the benefit of package, label, mark or count and carried in integral or fixed independent tanks.

*Captain of the Port* means the Coast Guard officer designated by the Commandant to command a Captain of the Port Zone as described in [part 3 of this chapter](/on/2024-09-19/title-33/part-3).

*Commandant* means the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard.

*Deviation* means any departure from any rule in this subchapter.

*Director, Vessel Traffic Services* means the Coast Guard officer designated by the Commandant to command a Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) as described in [part 161 of this chapter](/on/2024-09-19/title-33/part-161).

*District Commander* means the Coast Guard officer designated by the Commandant to command a Coast Guard District as described in [part 3 of this chapter](/on/2024-09-19/title-33/part-3).

*ETA* means estimated time of arrival.

*Length of Tow* means, when towing with a hawser, the length in feet from the stern of the towing vessel to the stern of the last vessel in tow. When pushing ahead or towing alongside, length of tow means the tandem length in feet of the vessels in tow excluding the length of the towing vessel.

*Person* means an individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, or governmental entity.

*State* means each of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

*Tanker* means a self-propelled tank vessel constructed or adapted primarily to carry oil or hazardous materials in bulk in the cargo spaces.

*Tank Vessel* means a vessel that is constructed or adapted to carry, or that carries, oil or hazardous material in bulk as cargo or cargo residue.

*Vehicle* means every type of conveyance capable of being used as a means of transportation on land.

*Vessel* means every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water.

*Vessel Traffic Services (VTS)* means a service implemented under [part 161 of this chapter](/on/2024-09-19/title-33/part-161) by the United States Coast Guard designed to improve the safety and efficiency of vessel traffic and to protect the environment. The VTS has the capability to interact with marine traffic and respond to traffic situations developing in the VTS area.

*Vessel Traffic Service Area* or *VTS Area* means the geographical area encompassing a specific VTS area of service as described in [part 161 of this chapter](/on/2024-09-19/title-33/part-161). This area of service may be subdivided into sectors for the purpose of allocating responsibility to individual Vessel Traffic Centers or to identify different operating requirements.

Note:

Although regulatory jurisdiction is limited to the navigable waters of the United States, certain vessels will be encouraged or may be required, as a condition of port entry, to report beyond this area to facilitate traffic management within the VTS area.

*VTS Special Area* means a waterway within a VTS area in which special operating requirements apply.

[CGD 90-020, [59 FR 36323](https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/59-FR-36323), July 15, 1994, as amended at USCG-2010-0351, [75 FR 36286](https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/75-FR-36286), June 25, 2010]