MARPOL Annex I

Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Oil

an introduction to the
international regulations
for the prevention of
pollution by oil

Image courtesy of Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN AS

Tim Wilkins
Regional Manager Asia-Pacific
Environmental Manager
1. MARPOL
2. Annex I
i. Regulations and Chapters
ii. Fundamentals
1. Operation
2. Construction
 1. MARPOL
Torrey Canyon 1967
• 1959 US built, 60,000 dwt, , Li.
flagged
• Jumboised to 120,000 dwt
• Cargo 120,000 ts of BP oil for
Milford Haven
• Navigational error caused
grounding ripping open 6 tanks
• 31,000,000 gallons of oil leaked
• Oil spread along the sea
between England and France
 1. MARPOL
Amoco Cadiz 1978
• 1974 built Amoco Cadiz carrying
227,000 tonnes of crude oil
• ran aground off the coast of Brittany,
France at 10:00 p.m. on March 16, 1978
• The whole cargo spilled out as the
breakers spilt the vessel in two,
progressively polluting 360 km of
shoreline
• At the time this was the largest oil spill
by tanker ever registered.
 1. MARPOL
The International Convention for the Prevention
of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)
• as amended by the 1978 Protocol (MARPOL 73/78)

Just Oil…
• 1954 OILPOL Convention
– Operational
• Discharge zones (50nm and 100ppm)
• Reception facilities
 1. MARPOL
Not just Oil…

MARPOL Annexes I – VI

I. Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Oil

II. Regulations for the Control of Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances
in Bulk
III. Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances
Carried by Sea in Packaged Form
IV. Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships
V. Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships
VI. Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships
 1. MARPOL
MARPOL Implementation
• 1967 Torrey Canyon
• 1973-1978 Amoco Cadiz et al.
• MARPOL ’73 and the Protocol ‘78
• MARPOL enters into force October 1983
– Annex I and II - 1983
– Annex III – 1992
– Annex V – 1988
– Annex IV – 2003
– Annex VI - 2005
 2. Annex I regulations and chapters

39 regulations in 7 chapters to regulate oil pollution from ships (not

just tankers):

1. Ship/Tanker design
2. Ship/Tanker operation
 2. Annex I regulations and chapters

39 regulations in 7 chapters to regulate oil pollution from ships (not

just tankers):

Chapter Regulations

1 1-5 General: Definitions and applications

2 6-11 Surveys and certification: Flag administration and Port State Control
(PSC)
3 12-17 Machinery space: Construction, discharge control and equipment
(all ship types)
4 18-36 Cargo areas: Construction, discharge control and equipment
(oil tankers)
5 37 Shipboard oil pollution emergency plan (SOPEP)
6 38 Reception facilities
7 39 FPSOs and FSUs
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Discharge of oil at sea (1):

all discharges of oil are prohibited unless certain criteria are satisfied

• Machinery space (bilge and sludge)

– All ship types
– Machinery space
• Bilge waste: oily water from the bilges
• Sludge: waste residue from the filtration of fuel oil
– Ship must be en route
– Oily mixture must have been processed through the oil
filtering equipment
– Oil content of the mixture does not exceed 15 parts per
million (ppm)
– Oily mixture is not mixed with cargo residues (see later)
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Discharge of oil at sea (2):

all discharges of oil are prohibited unless certain criteria are satisfied

• Cargo space (slops)

– Oil tankers
– Must be more than 50nm from nearest land (also defined)
– 30 litres per nautical mile
– Discharged through the Oil Discharge Monitoring
Equipment (ODME)
– Maximum discharge quantity on a ballast voyage should
not exceed 1/30,000 of the total quantity of the particular
cargo of which the residue formed a part
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Discharge of oil at sea (3):

all discharges of oil are prohibited unless certain criteria are satisfied
Oil discharge monitoring and control systems (tankers)
Regulations 31 & 32

Oil filter equipment (all ship types)

Regulation 14

• Oil Discharge Monitoring Equipment (ODME)

• Oily Water Separators (OWS)

Extensive review of requirements underway at IMO

 2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Special Areas (1):

• All the previous discharge criteria regulates outside a Special Area

• Regulation 1 - “A Special Area is a sea area where for recognized

technical reasons in relation to oceanographic and ecological condition
and to the particular character of its traffic…special mandatory methods
for the prevention of sea pollution by [oil] is required.”
• And as such there shall be NO discharge whatsoever of cargo
residues/slops from oil tankers
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Special Areas (2):

those listed in Annex I:
– Baltic Sea 1983
– Black Sea 1983
– Red Sea not in effect
– Mediterranean Sea 1983
– Gulf of Aden not in effect
– Antarctic 1992
– Gulfs area Aug 2008
– Northwest European waters 1999
– Southern South African waters Aug 2008
– Oman area of the Arabian Sea not in effect
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Reception facilities:
Regulation 38
Oil loading terminals, repair ports and ports in which ships have oily
residues to discharge

• Port state obligation

• Alleged inadequacies
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

How many hulls…
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

Exxon Valdez 1989
OPA 90
– U.S phase-out from 1995 to 2010 (except for tankers with double
bottoms (db) or double sides (ds), tankers less than 5,000 gross tons and
tankers that call at LOOP or Designated Lightering Areas)
IMO amendments to MARPOL 73/78 (adopted 3/1992, entry into force
7/1993)
– Newbuildings to be double-hulls
– Single-hulls to be sbt/pl or hbl from 25 years with phase-out at 30 years
old or by 2015
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

Erika 1999
IMO amendments to MARPOL 73/78 (adopted 4/2001, entry into force
9/2002)
– Category 1 phase-out up to 2007
– Categories 2&3 phase-out at 26 years up to 2015
BUT
• Flag state may allow newer single-hulls to continue to 25 years (subject to CAS)
HOWEVER
• Port state can deny such extended single-hull tankers from entering its ports
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

Oil Tanker Categorization
Category 1 pre-MARPOL (pre-1982)
Category 2 MARPOL (post-1982)
Category 3 smaller tankers (5,000-20,000/30,000dwt)
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

Prestige 2001
EU Regulation 1726/2003 (entry into force 21/10/2003)
– Category 1 phase-out up to 2005
– Categories 2&3 phase-out up to 2010
– No Heavy Grade Oils (HGO) in single-hulls from 21/10/2003
– CAS from 2005 for all Categories 2&3 over 15 years old

IMO amendments to MARPOL 73/78 (adopted 12/2003, entry into force

5/4/2005)
– 13G
– Category 1 phase-out up to 2005
– Categories 2&3 phase-out up to 2010
– CAS required for Categories 2&3 over 15 years old
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

Prestige 2001
BUT

• Flag state may extend Categories 2&3 up to 2015 or 25th anniversary

(whichever earlier)
• Flag state may extend Categories 2&3 with db or ds which may trade up to 25th
anniversary of delivery (even past 2015)

HOWEVER

• Port state may deny entry of either such flag-state-extended tankers

• 13H - Double hull required from 5/4/05 for Heavy Grade Oil as cargo for tankers
5,000 dwt and above, and for tankers 600-4,999 dwt (except single-hulls built
with db and ds) from anniversary date in 2008
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

Prestige 2001
BUT

• Flag state may allow single-hull 5,000 dwt and above with db or ds to continue
with HGO up to 25th anniversary (even beyond 2015)
• Flag state may allow single-hull 5,000 dwt and above to continue with HGO
between 900 and 945 kg/cubic meter until 25th anniversary or 2015 whichever is
earlier, subject to CAS
• Flag state may allow single-hull 600-4,999 dwt to continue with HGO until 25th
anniversary or 2015 whichever is earlier

HOWEVER

• Port state may deny entry of any of the above mentioned flag-state-extended
tankers carrying HGO
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

60
MARPOL (min phase out - trading of SH
until 25 years)
50 EU + no SH after 2010

OPA90
40

30

20

10

0
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

100

23
33 32 29 26
80 41 % dwt share*:
49

60 78
DH SH/DB/DS
94

40 77 * Assumes phase out

67 68 71 74
59 according to
51
20 regulations (rounded
upwards, 25 years
22
after 2010
6
0 End 10* .
End 03
End 04
End 05
End 06
End 07
End 02
1991
1997
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Miscellaneous

Other key elements to MARPOL Annex I:

• SOPEP
– Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan
• Certification
– International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (IOPPC)
• Surveys
– Special Surveys (Enhanced Special Survey)
– Condition Assessment Scheme (CAS)
• CAS (Applies to oil tankers of 5,000 dwt and above)
• CAS will be performed at intervals of up to 5 years and 6 months
• First CAS to be undertaken at first renewal (ie special) survey or
intermediate survey after 5/4/05 of every tanker which has
reached its fifteenth year
• CAS is to be harmonised with ESP
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Miscellaneous

Other key elements to MARPOL Annex I:

• Oil Record Book (ORB)

– Regulation 17 and Appendix III
– Part 1: Machinery space operations
– Part 2: Cargo space operations
• Crude Oil Washing (COW)
• Fuel tank protection – all ships 2010
• Pump room protection – double bottom in tankers after 1/1/2007
• Oil outflow performance in case of accident – collision or grounding
 2. Annex I fundamentals; Miscellaneous
Other key elements to MARPOL\Annex I:
• FPSOs/FSUs
a. FPSOs and FSUs are not oil tankers and are not to be used for
the transport of oil except that, with the specific agreement by
the flag and relevant coastal States on a voyage basis,
b. Conversion of an oil tanker to an FPSO or FSU or vice versa
should not be construed as a major conversion as defined in
regulation 1(8)
c. There are five categories of discharges that may be associated
with the operation of an FPSO or FSU:
1. machinery space drainage;
2. offshore processing drainage;
3. production water discharge;
4. displacement water discharge; and
5. contaminated seawater from operational purposes such as
produced oil tank cleaning water, produced oil tank hydrostatic
testing water, water from ballasting of produced oil tank to carry
out inspection by rafting.
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