"owner"

in relation to a ship or a tanker, means the person or persons registered as the owner of such ship or tanker or, in the absence of registration, the person or persons to whom such ship or tanker belongs, but, in relation to a ship or tanker belonging to a state which is operated by a person registered as the ship's or tanker's operator, "owner" means the person so registered;

[Definition substituted by section 27(l) of Act No. 23 of 1997]