Marpol Annex 1 -Regulations for preventing oil pollution from

ships

To prevent pollution of the sea and the consequent destruction and damage to life
in it and along its shores, extensive international legislation exists, and some
nations enforce far-reaching and strict laws. Attention is drawn to national laws in
the appropriate volumes of Admiralty Sailing Directions.

Actual or probable, discharges of oil or noxious substances, or sightings of

pollution should be reported to the coastal authorities.

Specific instructions on reporting, where known, are given in Admiralty List of

Radio Signals Volume 1.

MARPOL Annex I (Oil) entered into force on 2nd October 1983. It contains
regulations for the prevention of pollution by oil. The United Kingdom domestic
legislation to implement this Annex was the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil
Pollution) Regulations 1983.

Discharging of Oil: The regulations govern the discharges, except for clean or
segregated ballast, from all ships. They require inter alia all ships to be fitted with
pollution prevention equipment to comply with the stringent discharge
regulations.

Discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures, as defined in an Appendix to the
Convention, is prohibited by the regulations of Annex I except when all the
following conditions are satisfied.

From the machinery space bilges of all ships, except from those of tankers where
the discharge is mixed with oil cargo residue:

•The ship is not within a Special Area;

•The ship is more than 12nautical miles from the nearest land;
•The ship is en route;
•The oil content of the effluent is less than 15 parts per million. And;
•The ship has in operation an oil discharge monitoring and control system,
oily-water separating equipment, oil filtering system or other installation
required by this Annex.
These restrictions do not apply to discharges of oily mixture which without
dilution have an oil content not exceeding 15ppm.
From the cargo area of an oil tanker (discharges from cargo tanks, including
cargo pump rooms; and from machinery space bilges mixed with cargo oil
residue):
•The tanker is not within a Special Area;
•The tanker is more than 50nautical miles from the nearest land;
•The tanker is proceeding en route;
•The instantaneous rate of discharge of oil content does not exceed 30litres
per nautical mile;
•The total quantity of oil discharged into the sea does not exceed for
existing tankers 1/15000 of the total quantity of the particular cargo of
which the residue formed a part, and for new tankers (as defined in the
Annex) 1/30000 of the total quantity of the particular cargo of which the
residue formed a part; and
•The tanker has in operation, except where provided for in the Annex, an oil
discharge monitoring and control system and a slop tank arrangement.
Special and Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas. Annex I applies to all such
areas.
Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (SOPEP): Regulation26 of Annex1
to MARPOL 73/78 requires every oil tanker of 150grt and above and every other
vessel of 400grt and above, to carry on board a SOPEP approved by the vessel’s
flag administration. Regulation26 came into force on 4 April 1995 for all existing
vessels.

IMO has produced guidelines, as IMO Resolution MEPC 54(32), for the
development of SOPEPs. This regulation also applies to offshore installations
engaged in gas and oil production, seaports and oil terminals.

Source: http://shipsbusiness.com/causes-of-pollution.html