Section 1. Short title and commencement

CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1. Short title and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Coast Guard Act, 1978. (2) It shall come into force on such date[1] as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. 1. 19th August, 1978, vide notification No. S.R.O. 10(E), dated 18th August, 1978, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 4. (q) "officer" means a person appointed or in pay as an officer of the Coast Guard, but does not include a subordinate officer, sailor or other enrolled person; (r) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (s) "rule" means a rule made under this Act; (t) "sailor" means a member of the Coast Guard other than an officer, a subordinate officer or other enrolled person; (u) "ship", except in the expression "on board a ship", means a Coast Guard vessel, and includes any establishment or station belonging to, or under the control of, the Coast Guard whether within or without India; (v) "skipper" means a subordinate officer in command of a ship; (w) "subordinate officer" means a person appointed or in pay as a Pradhan Adhikari , a Pradhan Sahayak Engineer, an Uttam Adhikari , an Uttam Sahayak Engineer, an Adhikari[1] [, a Sahayak Engineer or a Pradhan Yantrik ] of the Coast Guard; (x) "superior officer", when used in relation to a person subject to this Act, means any officer or subordinate officer — - (i) who is senior to that person under the rules; or - (ii) who is entitled under this Act or the rules to give a command to that person; (y) "territorial waters", "contiguous zone", "continental shelf" and "exclusive economic zone", shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976); (z) all words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) shall have the meanings assigned to them in that Code.