(Prevention of) Pollution by Sewage from Ships

Regulations for the prevention of pollution by sewage are contained in MARPOL Annex IV.
Sewage – the problem
The discharge of raw sewage into the sea can create a health hazard. Sewage can also lead to
oxygen depletion and can be an obvious visual pollution in coastal areas - a major problem for
countries with tourist industries.
The main sources of human-produced sewage are land-based - such as municipal sewers or
treatment plants. However, the discharge of sewage into the sea from ships also contributes to
marine pollution.
Annex IV of MARPOL
Annex IV contains a set of regulations regarding the discharge of sewage into the sea from
ships, including regulations regarding the ships' equipment and systems for the control of
sewage discharge, the provision of port reception facilities for sewage, and requirements for
survey and certification.
It is generally considered that on the high seas, the oceans are capable of assimilating and
dealing with raw sewage through natural bacterial action. Therefore, the regulations in Annex IV
of MARPOL prohibit the discharge of sewage into the sea within a specified distance from the
nearest land, unless otherwise provided.
Governments are required to ensure the provision of adequate reception facilities at ports and
terminals for the reception of sewage, without causing delay to ships.
The Annex entered into force on 27 September 2003. A revised Annex IV was adopted on 1
April 2004 and entered into force on 1 August 2005.
The revised Annex applies to ships, engaged in international voyages, of 400 gross tonnage
and above or which are certified to carry more than 15 persons. The Annex requires ships to be
equipped with either an approved sewage treatment plant or an approved sewage comminuting
and disinfecting system or a sewage holding tank. 
The discharge of sewage into the sea is prohibited, except when the ship has in operation an
approved sewage treatment plant or when the ship is discharging comminuted and disinfected
sewage using an approved system at a distance of more than three nautical miles from the
nearest land. Sewage which is not comminuted or disinfected may be discharged at a distance
of more than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land when the ship is en route and proceeding
at not less than 4 knots, and the rate of discharge of untreated sewage shall be approved by the
Administration (see resolution MEPC.157(55))
The MEPC also adopted the Recommendation on standards for the rate of discharge of
untreated sewage from ships (resolution MEPC.157(55)).
Special Areas
In July 2011, MEPC 62 adopted, by resolution MEPC.200(62), the most recent amendment to
MARPOL Annex IV, which entered into force on 1 January 2013. The amendment introduced,
inter alia, a definition for Special Area as well as relevant requirements for the discharge of
sewage from passenger ships in Special Areas and for port reception facilities. 
The discharge of sewage from passenger ships within a Special Area is generally be prohibited
under the new regulations, except when the ship has in operation an approved sewage
treatment plant which has been certified by the Administration (see resolution MEPC.227(64)).
The sewage treatment plant installed on a passenger ship intending to discharge sewage
effluent in Special Areas should additionally meet the nitrogen and phosphorus removal
standard when tested for its Certificate of Type Approval by the Administration (resolution
MEPC.227(64), section 4.2).
Currently, the Baltic Sea area is the only Special Area under Annex IV. In accordance with
resolution MEPC.275(69), the discharge requirements for Special Areas in regulation 11.3 of
MARPOL Annex IV for the Baltic Sea Special Area shall take effect:
.1       on 1 June 2019, for new passenger ships[1];
.2       on 1 June 2021, for existing passenger ships[1] other than those specified in .3; and
.3       on 1 June 2023, for existing passenger ships en route directly to or from a port located
outside the special area and to or from a port located east of longitude 28˚10' E within the
special area that do not make any other port calls within the special area.

(Prevention of) Pollution by Garbage from

Ships
Regulations for the prevention of pollution by garbage from ships are contained in Annex V of
MARPOL.
Background of MARPOL Annex V
Garbage from ships can be just as deadly to marine life as oil or chemicals.
The greatest danger comes from plastic, which can float for years. Fish and marine mammals can in
some cases mistake plastics for food and they can also become trapped in plastic ropes, nets, bags and
other items - even such innocuous items as the plastic rings used to hold cans of beer and drinks
together.
It is clear that a good deal of the garbage washed up on beaches comes from people on shore - holiday-
makers who leave their rubbish on the beach, fishermen who simply throw unwanted refuse over the side
- or from towns and cities that dump rubbish into rivers or the sea. But in some areas most of the rubbish
found comes from passing ships which find it convenient to throw rubbish overboard rather than dispose
of it in ports.
For a long while, many people believed that the oceans could absorb anything that was thrown into them,
but this attitude has changed along with greater awareness of the environment. Many items can be
degraded by the seas - but this process can take months or years.
Persuading people not to use the oceans as a rubbish tip is a matter of education - the old idea that the
sea can cope with anything still prevails to some extent but it also involves much more vigorous
enforcement of regulations such as MARPOL Annex V.
 
MARPOL Annex V
MARPOL Annex V seeks to eliminate and reduce the amount of garbage being discharged into the sea
from ships. Unless expressly provided otherwise, Annex V applies to all ships, which means all ships of
any type whatsoever operating in the marine environment, from merchant ships to fixed or floating
platforms to non-commercial ships like pleasure crafts and yachts.
Although the Annex is optional , it did receive a sufficient number of ratifications to enable entry into force
1

on 31 December 1988.  Today, more than 150 Countries have signed up to MARPOL Annex V.
MARPOL Annex V generally prohibits the discharge of all garbage into the sea, except as provided
otherwise in regulations 4, 5, and 6 of the Annex, which are related to food waste, cargo residues,
cleaning agents and additives and animal carcasses. An overview of the MARPOL Annex V
discharge provisions can be accessed here. Exceptions with respect to the safety of a ship and
those on board and accidental loss are contained in regulation 7 of Annex V
Under MARPOL Annex V, garbage includes all kinds of food, domestic and operational waste, all plastics,
cargo residues, incinerator ashes, cooking oil, fishing gear, and animal carcasses generated during the
normal operation of the ship and liable to be disposed of continuously or periodically. Garbage does not
include fresh fish and parts thereof generated as a result of fishing activities undertaken during the
voyage, or as a result of aquaculture activities.
To assist Governments, ships and port operators in implementing relevant requirements under MAPROL
Annex V, MEPC has developed and adopted the Guidelines for the implementation of MARPOL 
Annex V, known as a living document, the latest of which is resolution MEPC.295(71).
Port reception facilities
The effectiveness of ships to comply with the discharge requirements of MARPOL depends largely upon
the availability of adequate port reception facilities, especially within special areas. Hence, MARPOL
Annex V also obliges Governments to ensure the provision of adequate reception facilities at ports and
terminals for the reception of garbage without causing undue delay to ships, and according to the needs
of the ships using them.
As provided in regulation 8.3, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) could satisfy the requirements for
providing adequate port reception facilities through regional arrangements when, because of those
States' unique circumstances, such arrangements are the only practical means to satisfy these
requirements. Parties participating in a regional arrangement must develop a Regional Reception Facility
Plan, taking into account the guidelines developed by IMO .2

Special areas
The special areas established under Annex V are:
·        the Mediterranean Sea area
·        the Baltic Sea area
·        the Black Sea area
·        the Red Sea area
·        the Gulfs area
·        the North Sea area
·        the Wider Caribbean Region and
·        the Antarctic area.
These are sea areas where for recognized technical reasons relating to their oceanographic and
ecological condition and the particular character of traffic, such as heavy maritime traffic, low water
exchange, extreme ice states, endangered marine species, etc., the adoption of special mandatory
methods for the prevention of marine pollution by garbage is required.
Port State control
Provisions to extend port State control to cover operational requirements as regards prevention of marine
pollution were adopted in 1994 and entered into force on 3 March 1996. Like similar amendments to the
other MARPOL Annexes, regulation 9 of Annex V makes it clear that port State control officers can
inspect a foreign-flagged ship at a port or an offshore terminal of its State "where there are clear grounds
for believing that the master or crew are not familiar with essential shipboard procedures relating to the
prevention of pollution by garbage".
Placard
Regulation 10.1 also requires every ship of 12 metres in length or over and every fixed or floating platform
to display placards notifying passengers and crew of the disposal requirements of the Annex; these
placards should be written in the working language of the ship's crew and also in English, French or
Spanish for ships travelling to other States' ports or offshore terminals.
Garbage management plan
All ships of 100 gross tonnage and above, every ship certified to carry 15 persons or more, and every
fixed or floating platform must carry a garbage management plan on board, which includes written
procedures for minimizing, collecting, storing, processing and disposing of garbage, including the use of
the equipment on board (regulation 10.2). The garbage management plan must designate the person
responsible for the plan and be written in the working language of the crew.  Resolution MEPC.220(63)
provides the 2012 Guidelines for the development of garbage management plans.
Garbage Record Book
Implementation and enforcement is also the focus of regulation 10.3, which requires all ships of 400 gross
tonnage and above and every ship which is certified to carry 15 persons or more engaged in voyages to
ports and offshore terminals under the jurisdiction of another Party to the Convention and every fixed or
floating platform to provide a Garbage Record Book and to record all disposal and incineration operations.
The date, time, position of the ship, description of the garbage and the estimated amount incinerated or
discharged must be logged and signed. The Garbage Record Book must be kept for a period of two years
after the date of the last entry. This regulation does not in itself impose stricter requirements - but it makes
it easier to check that the regulations on garbage are being adhered to as it means ship personnel must
keep track of the garbage and what happens to it. It could also prove an advantage to a ship when local
officials are checking the origin of discharged garbage - if ship personnel can adequately account for all
their garbage, they are unlikely to be wrongly penalised for discharging garbage when they have not done
so. Appendix 2 of MARPOL Annex V provides a standard form for a Garbage Record Book.
Cargo residues
Cargo residues are defined as the remnants of any cargo which are not covered by other Annexes to the
present Convention and which remain on deck or in holds following loading or unloading. They include
loading and unloading excess or spillage, whether in wet or dry condition or entrained in wash water, but
do not include cargo dust remaining on deck after sweeping or dust on the external surfaces of the ship
(regulation 1.2 of Annex V). In addition to this definition, MARPOL Annex V also stipulates that only those
cargo residues that cannot be recovered using commonly available methods for unloading could be
considered for discharge.
A simplified overview of the regulations regarding the discharge of cargo residues under MARPOL Annex
V can be accessed here. As a general rule, cargo residues which contain substances classified as
harmful to the marine environment (HME) must not be discharged at sea, but have to be taken to port
reception facilities. Regarding the discharge of cargo residues which do not contain any HME substances,
the Annex establishes different requirements depending on whether they are contained in wash water or
not.
Solid bulk cargoes must be classified and declared by the shipper as to whether or not they are harmful to
the marine environment, in accordance with the criteria set out in appendix 1 of MARPOL Annex V.
Shipboard incinerator
The Standard Specification for Shipboard Incinerators (resolution MEPC.244(66)) covers the design,
manufacture, performance, operation and testing of incinerators designed to incinerate garbage and other
shipboard waste.
Verification of compliance
Chapter 2 of MARPOL Annex V provides that Parties must use the provisions of the Code for
Implementation in execution of their obligations and responsibilities, and be subject to the IMO Member
State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) in accordance with the audit standard to verify compliance with and
implementation of the Annex. The mandatory IMSAS commenced from 1 January 2016,
Polar Regions
Chapter 3 of MARPOL Annex V makes use of the environment-related provisions of the Polar Code
mandatory, and requires that ships trading the Polar Regions must comply with strict environmental
provisions specific to the harsh conditions in Polar waters – the Arctic waters and the Antarctic area.
List of amendments to MARPOL Annex V
 

No Resolution Adoption Deemed acceptance Entry into force

.

1 MEPC.36(28) 17 Oct. 1989 17 Aug. 1990 18 Feb. 1991

2 MEPC.42(30) 16 Nov. 1990 16 Sept. 1991 17 Mar. 1992

 3 MEPC.48(31) 4 Jul. 1991 4 Oct. 1992 4 Apr. 1993

4 Resolution 3 3
2 Nov. 1994 3 Sept. 1995 3 Mar. 1996

5 MEPC.65(37) 14 Sept. 1995 1 Jan. 1997 1 Jul. 1997

6 MEPC.89(45) 5 Oct. 2000 1 Sept. 2001 1 Mar. 2002

7 MEPC.116(51) 1 April 2004 1 Feb. 2005 1 Aug. 2005

8 MEPC.201(62) 15 Jul. 2011 1 July. 2012 1 Jan. 2013

9 MEPC.216(63) 2 Mar. 2012 1 Feb. 2013 1 Aug. 2013

10 MEPC.246(66) 4 Apr. 2014 1  Jul. 2015 1 Jan. 2016

11 MEPC.265(68) 15 May 2015 1 Jul. 2016 1 Jan. 2017

12 MEPC.277(70) 28 Oct. 2016 1 Sept. 2017 1 Mar. 2018

Ballast Water Pollution (Management)

Since the introduction of steel-hulled vessels, water has been used as ballast to stabilize vessels at sea.
Ballast water is pumped in to maintain safe operating conditions throughout a voyage. This practice
reduces stress on the hull, provides transverse stability, improves propulsion and manoeuvrability, and
compensates for weight changes in various cargo load levels and due to fuel and water consumption.
While ballast water is essential for safe and efficient modern shipping operations, it may pose serious
ecological, economic and health problems due to the multitude of marine species carried in ships’ ballast
water. These include bacteria, microbes, small invertebrates, eggs, cysts and larvae of various species.
The
transferred species may survive to establish a reproductive population in the host environment, becoming
invasive, out-competing native species and multiplying into pest proportions.
Scientists first recognized the signs of an alien species introduction after a mass occurrence of the Asian
phytoplankton algae Odontella (Biddulphia sinensis) in the North Sea in 1903. But it was not until the
1970s that the scientific community began reviewing the problem in detail. In the late 1980s, Canada and
Australia were among countries experiencing particular problems with invasive species, and they brought
their concerns to the attention of IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).
The problem of invasive species in ships’ ballast water is largely due to the expanded trade and traffic
volume over the last few decades and, since the volumes of seaborne trade continue to increase, the
problem may not yet have reached its peak yet. The effects in many areas of the world have been
devastating. Quantitative data show that the rate of bio-invasions is continuing to increase at an alarming
rate and new areas are being invaded all the time.
 
The spread of invasive species is now recognized as one of the greatest threats to the ecological and the
economic well being of the planet. These species are causing enormous damage to biodiversity and the
valuable natural riches of the earth upon which we depend. Direct and indirect health effects are
becoming increasingly serious and the damage to the environment is often irreversible.
 
For some examples of aquatic bio-invasions causing major impact please click here. It should be noted,
however, that there are hundreds of other serious invasions which have been or are in the process of
being recorded around the world.
Global response
Preventing the transfer of invasive species and coordinating a timely and effective response to invasions
requires cooperation and collaboration among governments, economic sectors, non-governmental
organizations and international treaty organizations; the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article
196) provides the global framework by requiring States to work together to prevent, reduce and control
pollution of the marine environment including the intentional or accidental introduction of species, alien or
new, to a particular part of the marine environment, which may cause significant and harmful changes
thereto.

IMO has been at the front of the international effort by taking the lead in addressing the transfer of
invasive aquatic species (IAS) through shipping. In 1991 the MEPC adopted the International Guidelines
for preventing the introduction of unwanted aquatic organisms and pathogens from ships' ballast water
and sediment discharges (resolution MEPC.50(31)); while the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, recognized the issue as a major international
concern.
 
In November 1993, the IMO Assembly adopted resolution A.774(18) based on the 1991 Guidelines,
requesting the MEPC and the MSC to keep the Guidelines under review with a view to developing
internationally applicable, legally-binding provisions. While continuing its work towards the development of
an international treaty, the Organization adopted, in November 1997, resolution A.868(20) - Guidelines
for the control and management of ships' ballast water to minimize the transfer of harmful aquatic
organisms and pathogens, inviting its Member States to use these new guidelines when addressing the
issue of IAS.
 
After more than 14 years of complex negotiations between IMO Member States, the  International
Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention)
was adopted by consensus at a Diplomatic Conference held at IMO Headquarters in London on 13
February 2004. In his opening address to the Conference the Secretary-General of IMO stated that the
new Convention would represent a significant step towards protecting the marine environment for this and
future generations.  “Our duty to our children and their children cannot be over-stated.  I am sure we
would all wish them to inherit a world with clean, productive, safe and secure seas – and the outcome of
this Conference, by staving off an increasingly serious threat, will be essential to ensuring this is so”.
 
The Convention requires all ships to implement a ballast water management plan. All ships have to carry
a ballast water record book and are required to carry out ballast water management procedures to a given
standard. Parties to the Convention are given the option to take additional measures which are subject to
criteria set out in the Convention and to IMO guidelines.
Several articles and regulations of the BWM Convention refer to guidelines to be developed by the
Organization and Conference resolution 1 invited IMO to develop these guidelines as a matter of urgency
and adopt them as soon as practicable and, in any case, before the entry into force of the Convention,
with a view to facilitate global and uniform implementation of the instrument.
The MEPC, at its fifty-first session in April 2004, approved a programme for the development of guidelines
and procedures for uniform implementation of the BWM Convention, listed in Conference resolution 1,
including additional guidance required but not listed in the resolution. The programme was further
expanded at the fifty-third session of the MEPC in July 2005 to develop and adopt 14 sets of Guidelines,
the last one being adopted by resolution MEPC.173(58) in October 2008. The Guidelines, some of which
have been revised since their initial adoption, and a number of other relevant guidance documents can be
accessed here.
Approval of ballast water management systems
During the Convention development process, considerable efforts were made to formulate appropriate
standards for ballast water management. They are the ballast water exchange standard and the ballast
water performance standard. Ships performing ballast water exchange shall do so with an efficiency of 95
per cent volumetric exchange of ballast water and ships using a ballast water management system
(BWMS) shall meet a performance standard based on agreed numbers of organisms per unit of volume.
Regulation D-3 of the BWM Convention requires that ballast water management systems used to comply
with the Convention must be approved by the Administration taking into account the Guidelines for
approval of ballast water management systems (G8). The Guidelines (G8) have been revised in 2016 and
converted into a mandatory Code for approval of ballast water management systems (BWMS Code),
which was adopted by MEPC 72 (April 2018) and enters into force in October 2019.
 
Regulation D-3 also requires that ballast water management systems which make use of Active
Substances to comply with the Convention shall be approved by IMO in accordance with the Procedure
for approval of ballast water management systems that make use of Active Substances (G9). Procedure
(G9) consists of a two-tier process – Basic and Final Approval – to ensure that the ballast water
management system does not pose unreasonable risk to the environment, human health, property or
resources.
 
A technical group of experts has been established under the auspices of GESAMP to review the
proposals submitted for approval of ballast water management systems that make use of Active
Substances. The GESAMP Ballast Water Working Group (GESAMP-BWWG) reports to the Organization
on whether such a proposal presents unreasonable risks in accordance with the criteria specified in the
Procedure (G9). For more detailed information regarding the ballast water treatment technologies please
click here.
The Convention requires a review to be undertaken in order to determine whether appropriate
technologies are available to achieve the standard. MEPC has conducted a number of such reviews and
agreed that appropriate technologies are available to achieve the standard contained in regulation D-2 of
the BWM Convention.
 
BWM Convention status
 
The BWM Convention entered into force on 8 September 2017. 
 
The adoption of all the required Guidelines for the uniform implementation of the BWM Convention and
the approval and certification of modern ballast water treatment technologies have removed the major
barriers to the ratification of the instrument and a number of additional countries have indicated their
intention to accede to this Convention in the near future.
http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/Default.aspx

Marine Environment. (2019). Imo.Org.

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