Briese Training Centre

MARPOL 73/78 Annex IV

Regulations for the Prevention of
Pollution by Sewage from Ships

Updated 04.05.2023

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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.

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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.
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.

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Definitions
Sewage means:
- drainage and other wastes from any form of toilets and
urinals;
- drainage from medical premises (dispensary, sick bay,
etc.) via wash basins, wash tubs and scuppers located in
such premises;
- drainage from spaces containing living animals; or
- other waste waters when mixed with the drainages
defined above.

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Definitions
Untreated Sewage means sewage that has not been treated
by a type approved sewage treatment plant, or that has not
been comminuted and disinfected.
Grey water – is drainage from dishwater, galley sink,
shower, laundry, bath and washbasin drains and does not
include drainage from toilets, urinals, hospitals, and animal
spaces, as defined in regulation 1.3 of MARPOL Annex IV
and does not include drainage from cargo spaces.

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Regulating grey water is a necessity
Regulating grey water together with black water makes the existing performance
standard more attainable and practicable. Because grey water is often co-mingled
with black water during storage and transfer on board, regulating grey water is
essential for effective implementation of the proposed sewage record books.
There are other reasons too. For years, grey water related non-conformities have
been persistent. Sending grey water to an STP’s final stage is a non-conformity
wrongly approved and promoted by the classification societies since 2016. Ship’s
grey water system is also becoming a dumping ground for regulated wastes, such
as food waste and food waste derivatives, violating international marine rules and
national biosecurity rules. The interferences of grey water to the Ballast Water
Convention also remain outstanding. Regulating grey water can help to address
these issues.
Regulating grey water can ultimately align the maritime industry to the rest of our
society in protecting our coastal waters with integrated and consistent regulations,
both on land and at sea.

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Definitions
Holding tank - means a tank used for the collection and
storage of sewage.

Nearest land - The term ``from the nearest land'' means

from the baseline from which the territorial sea of the
territory in question is established in accordance with
international law except that, for the purposes of the
present Convention.

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Regulation 8 Discharge of sewage
Subject to the provisions of regulation 9 of this Annex, the
discharge of sewage into the sea is prohibited, except when:
(a) the ship is discharging comminuted and disinfected sewage
using a system approved by the Administration in accordance
with regulation 3(1)(a) at a distance of more than 4 nautical
miles from the nearest land, or sewage which is not comminuted
or disinfected at a distance of more than 12 nautical miles from
the nearest land, provided that in any case, the sewage that has
been stored in holding tanks shall not be discharged
instantaneously but at a moderate rate when the ship is en route
and proceeding at not less than 4 knots; the rate of discharge
shall be approved by the Administration based upon standards
developed by the Organization; or
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Regulation 8 Discharge of sewage
(b) the ship has in operation an approved sewage
treatment plant which has been certified by the
Administration to meet the operational requirements
referred to in regulation 3(1)(a)(i) of this Annex, and
(i) the test results of the plant are laid down in the
ship's International Sewage Pollution Prevention
Certificate (1973);
(ii) additionally, the effluent shall not produce visible
floating solids in, nor cause discoloration of, the
surrounding water; or

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Regulation 8 Discharge of sewage
(c) the ship is situated in the waters under the jurisdiction
of a State and is discharging sewage in accordance with
such less stringent requirements as may be imposed by
such State.

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Standard as per MEPC.159(55)

Thermotolerant Coliform Standard

The geometric mean of the thermotolerant coliform count of the samples of effluent
taken during the test period should not exceed 100 thermotolerant coliforms/100
ml as determined by membrane filter, multiple tube fermentation or an equivalent
analytical procedure.

Total Suspended Solids (TSS) Standard

The geometric mean of the total suspended solids content of the samples of
effluent taken during the test period shall not exceed 35 mg/l.

Type approval Certificate

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Regulation 9 Exceptions
Regulation 8 of this Annex shall not apply to:
(a) the discharge of sewage from a ship necessary for the
purpose of securing the safety of a ship and those on
board or saving life at sea; or
(b) the discharge of sewage resulting from damage to a
ship or its equipment if all reasonable precautions have
been taken before and after the occurrence of the
damage, for the purpose of preventing or minimizing
the discharge.

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Regulation 11 Standard discharge connection

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Special Areas under MARPOL Annex IV
Baltic Sea
Date of Entry into Force – 01.01.2013
RESOLUTION MEPC.200(62)
Adopted on 15 July 2011 AMENDMENTS TO THE
ANNEX OF THE PROTOCOL OF 1978 RELATING TO
THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE
PREVENTION OF POLLUTION FROM SHIPS, 1973
(Special Area Provisions and the Designation of the Baltic
Sea as a Special Area under MARPOL Annex IV)

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Special Areas under MARPOL Annex IV
The most recent amendment for MAPOL annex IV was enforced on
January 2013, wherein, the Baltic sea area has been adopted as the
first special area for sewage discharge regulation. This regulation
targets passenger ships, which are the major cause of sewage-related
pollution at sea and in coastal water bodies.
This regulation bans the discharge of untreated sewage out at sea in
the Baltic area region. The untreated “raw” sewage produced on the
ship can either be treated in an STP before discharge or the collected
sewage can be transferred to the shore facility.
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 standards when tested for
its Certificate of Type Approval by the Administration.

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Shortcomings in Sewage Regulation
– MARPOL Annex IV does not address those vessels
carrying fewer persons, which can be ships and ferries
plying in domestic waters. However, there are several
smaller vessels around which are discharging wastewaters
that are not subject to these legal regulations
– Tourism/recreational vessels such as yachts and
small boats are also not covered under the MARPOL
regulation. In fact, such vessels contribute to a good
percentage of marine pollution, especially in countries with
a high number of tourists

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MARPOL Annex IV Sewage - details

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• PLEASE NOTE IN VENICE LAGOON IS FORBIDDEN

TO DISCHARGE SEWAGE WATERS EVEN IF
TREATED.

• Above information were received from Agent in pre-arrival

check list.

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PLEASE NOTE IN INNER WATER OF

BELGIUM IS FORBIDDEN TO DISCHARGE
SEWAGE WATERS EVEN IF TREATED.

• Above information were received from MARPOL Inspector in

Antwerp.

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 Discharge of treated & untreated sewage is forbidden

PLEASE NOTE IN INNER WATER OF ISRAIL

(inside of 3 miles zone from shore) IS
FORBIDDEN TO DISCHARGE SEWAGE WATERS
EVEN IF TREATED.

Above information were received from following letters

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 Discharge of treated & untreated sewage is forbidden

Sewage Water Regulation in Black Sea

• Discharging of treated and untreated sewage water is

prohibited in territorial water of Ukraine, Romania,
Bulgaria, Russia
• Base on local regulations

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• Shanghai Area - below information from our Main Agency in China

• Dear sir,
•

• Please be advised that vessels de-ballasting/sewage water was prohibited from 1st/Oct,2016 as per
Shanghai environment protection stipulation(2016) issued by local municipal government,
unfortunately, English version is not available.
•
Many thanks with best regards!
•

• Wangjian
• Penavico Shanghai Pudong Co.,Ltd
• BBC Team (Support)
• 5/F Wang Jiao Plaza, 175 Yan An Dong Road
• Huang Pu District, Shang Hai, China, 200002
• Phone: +86 21 61282533
• Fax: +86 21 61282599
• Mobile: +86 13817306873
• Email : bbc@penavicopd.com

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Inner water of Germany

• Police of Hamburg
• Waterways Police
• WSP 02
• Staff department/Principle matters
•
•
• by the “See-Umweltverhaltensverordnung” [“Marine Environment Behaviour Ordinance”]), it is allowed to discharge Sewage while moving within the German territorial and coastal
waters, inner waterways as per MARPOL-Annex IV regulation 11 (= treated wastewater from well-operated and certified Sewage Treatment Plants). Exception: ship is moving
directly from one German port to another German port inside coastal waters.

• In addition, it could be possible that you need a special permit (“Wasserrechtliche Erlaubnis”) for the discharge into the Port of Hamburg according to the "Hamburg Water Act".
• The competent authority for Hamburg is:
•
• Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt (BSU)
• Amt für Immissionsschutz und Betriebe (IB)
• Anlassbezogener Gewässerschutz, Direkteinleiter
• Neuenfelder Straße 19
• 21109 Hamburg
• Tel. 040/42840-3732
• Frau Bussink-Becking
• beate.bussinkbecking@bsu.hamburg.de
•
• With respect to the "Port Health Ordinance" the discharge of untreated sewage is strictly prohibited.
•
•
•
• For the “Kiel-Canal” and the river Elbe the GDWS might be competent authority for a special permit (“Wasserrechtliche Erlaubnis”):
• Generaldirektion Wasserstraßen und Schifffahrt, Außenstelle Nord
Kiellinie 247
24106 Kiel
• Telefon: 0431/3394-0; kiel.gdws@wsv.bund.de
•

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Turkey

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Australia
• Bunbury Port applies Regulation 17 of the Western Australia Port Authority Regulations. This states;
•
• ‘Unless authorised by a member of staff of the port authority, the master of a vessel must not cause or permit any waste water or waste substances
of any kind to be discharged from the vessel on to any part of a wharf or into the waters of the port.’
•
• AMSA’s Marine Notice 17/2008 refers to the ‘Annex IV - Commencement of Regulations for Existing Ships. Under the terms of MARPOL, existing
ships were given until 27 September 2008 to comply with new requirements regarding prevention of pollution by sewage from ships. This refers to
ships of 400GT and above. Ships are required to be equipped with one of the following sewage systems;
•
• A sewage treatment plant that is type approved by an Administration against the standards and test methods developed by the IMO;
• A sewage comminuting and disinfecting system approved by the Administration, fitted with facilities for the temporary storage of sewage when the
ship is less than 3 nautical miles from the nearest land; or
• A holding tank.
•
• Untreated sewage may only be discharged at a distance of more that 12 nautical miles from the nearest land.
• Comminute and disinfected sewage may only be discharged at a distance of more than 3 nautical miles from the land.
• Treated sewage discharged from an IMO approved sewage system may be discharged at any location providing the effluent does not produce visible
floating solids or cause discolouring of the water.
•
• If a vessel wishes to discharge effluent from an IMO approved certified sewage treatment unit within the Bunbury Port Limits, the vessel must
demonstrate that it has an IMO certified sewage treatment unit on board and that this has been approved by the vessel’s Administration.
•
• All agents who receive a request from a vessel to discharge effluent as above must request confirmation of the vessel’s International Sewage
Pollution Prevention Certificate (ISPPC) details including expiry date, and also the vessel must demonstrate that the equipment onboard has been
approved by an Administration. If these provisions can not be demonstrated, the vessel will not be allowed to discharge effluent of any kind and
must retain all sewage water onboard until the vessel has departed the port. Alternatively, sewage retained onboard in a holding tank can be
collected by an approved and licensed waste contractor whilst the vessel is in port.
•
• An Administration is normally a flag state or Classification Society.

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China
• Circular Ref No.:PNI1811
• In inland waters and sea water areas within 3
nautical miles away from the nearest land, according
to the type of ships and the time of
installation/replacement of sewage treatment
equipment, the corresponding pollutant discharge
limits of sewage after treated by onboard sewage
treatment device are shown as below

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China
• Ships that have installed/replaced sewage treatment devices before
01.01.2012, the discharging limits of sewage should be in line with below
table

No Pollutants Limits Monitoring

location
1 BOD5 (mg/L) 50
2 Suspended matter 150
（SS）(mg/L) Water outlet of
Heat resistant sewage
3 coliform group 2500 treatment
（Piece/L） facility

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China
• Ships that installed/replaced sewage treatment devices after 01.01.2012, the discharging
limits of sewage should be in line with below table(except the passenger ships)

No Pollutants Items Limits Monitoring

location
1 BOD5 (mg/L) 25
2 Suspended matter 35
（SS）(mg/L)
Heat resistant
3 coliform group 1000 Water outlet of
（Piece/L） sewage
4 CODcr (mg/L) 125
treatment
5 PH 6-8.5
facility
（Dimensionless）
6 Total chlorine ＜0.5
(mg/L)

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St.John’s
• Dear Captain,
• Regret to inform that using Sewage Treatment System in Port is not allowed.
• Thank you,
• Cristina Pagonis
• Regional Supervisor
• Caribbean, Central & South America
• Norton Lilly CCL Panama, S.A., As Agents Only
• Caribbean & Central America Hub
• +(507) 6930.3973 – Mobile 24 Hrs.
• +(507) 304.4629 - Direct
• +(507) 304.4602 - Fax
caribops@nortonlilly.com | www.nortonlilly.com
Panama Pacifico, Business Park Building 3825, Office 201B

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Ishikari and Sukumo port or Japan

• 1) About new sulphur limit (0.50% or lower) for fuel oil used on board, Pls kindly
refer to the attached booklet for your reference.
• 2) In port Discharge of treated Sewage directly into the water. - not possible.

• Best regards.

• *************************************
• Qiang Liu (Mr.) 劉りゅう 強きょう
• NIPPON EXPRESS CO., LTD.
• MARINE OPERATION TEAM YOK.
• KEIHIN PORT TERMINAL BRANCH
• 【MOB】+81-50-5235-2126
• 【Tel】+81-45-623-3014 【Ext】70837-2420
• 【Fax】+81-45-623-3327

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South Korea

•Dear captain
•
•The discharge of treated sewage inside of Busan
port area is prohibited by port regulation.
•You should discharge treated sewage at open sea.
• This regulation is applied in all Korean ports
• Best regards
• James Park
• OK SHIPPING(Overseas Korea Shipping Co., Ltd.)

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Brazil and Argentina – the situation is not clear, then please ask Agency before
entering the port

• Dear Captain, sewage System can be used at port, however wáter can`t be
disposed
• to the estuary.
•
• brgds
•
• MARCELO A. MUÑOZ
• Operations
•
• AGENCIA MARÍTIMA ROBINSON

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PUERTO ANGAMOS TERMINAL/ DISCHARGE TREATED SEWAGE

OVERBOARD

Discharging of treated sewage water is prohibited base on info from agency

without evidence

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Panama Canal

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United Arabian Emirates

• In accordance with the Circular EHS-

PM-02-2022, it’s prohibited to
discharging sewage water overboard
either treated on untreated at Dubai Ports
and all ports of UAE

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All Australian Ports prohibited inside of 3 miles zone
• GREY WATER
• The disposal of untreated grey water within port limits is prohibited for direct
discharge into the sea.
• Grey water is defined as wastewater that is collected from kitchen sinks and
dishwashers, bathroom
• sinks, showers, baths and floor drains, air conditioning condensate, clothes
washing machines and
• laundry basins and floor drains.
• Grey water can be discharged through the IMO Sewage Treatment Plant if the
vessel can confirm,
• that the Grey Water can be directed through the unit prior to discharge and all the
requirements as
• stated above in the section on sewage are complied with.

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All Australian Ports prohibited inside of 3 miles zone
• SEWAGE
• Vessels > 400 GRT or Certified to Carry 15 Persons or More MARPOL 73/78 Annex IV applies to ships on
international voyages (including any coastal leg of such voyages). The Australian Commonwealth
Government implements Annex IV by sections 26C to 26Dof the Commonwealth Protection of the Sea
(Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 and Division 12C of the Navigation Act 1912.
• Untreated sewage may only be discharged at a distance of more than 12 nautical miles from the
• nearest land provided that sewage held in holding tanks is not discharged instantaneously, but at a
• moderate rate when the ship is proceeding at a speed of not less than 4 knots.
• Comminuted and disinfected sewage may only be discharged at a distance of more than 3 nautical
• miles from the nearest land providing the system meets technical standards set by the International
• Maritime Organisation. Treated sewage: effluent from an IMO approved sewage treatment plant (including
grey water) may be discharged at any location. Vessels with an IMO approved sewage treatment plant may
beapproved for discharge by the Harbour Master providing:
• (a) the vessel can demonstrate that it has a IMO certified sewage treatment unit on board
• that has been approved by AMSA. A copy of approval certification would be required;
• (b) the vessel can provide results of discharge effluent quality analysis for a sample
• collected within the past 30 days. Samples must be analysed by a NATA approved
• laboratory and meet the necessary lower limits of reporting;
• (c) that results of analysis are below the effluent quality standards shown in the table
• below;.
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All Australian Ports prohibited inside of 3 miles zone
• Parameter Units Certified Design Criteria
• Suspended Solids Mg/L < 50
• Faecal Coliform MPN/CFU per 100ml < 250
• BOD Mg/L < 50
• Residual Chlorine Mg/L <0.5
• (d) effluent does not produce visible floating solids nor cause discoloration
of the
• surrounding water.
• Sewage retained in holding tanks on the ship can be collected by an
approved and licensed waste
• contractor when the vessel is in port.
• The Australian Maritime Safety Authority may board the vessel and inspect
the unit and request to
• sight a copy of certification.

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Sewage disposal from ships in Dutch ports
From July 1, 2020 this is possible under certain conditions.
Discharge of gray and black water is only permitted if the waste water has been treated in a treatmentplant that
meets the requirements of IMO resolution MEPC. 159 (55) or newer. Furthermore, the following applies:
There may not be visible contamination (discoloration or solid particles in the water).
The installation is sufficiently large and is demonstrably well maintained and managed.
The sludge from the installation may not be discharged into the port.
The sewage treatment plant should meet the following effluent standards in the performance test:
BZV5 : 40 mg/1
CZV : 1 80 mg/1
pH : 6-8,5
chlorine: maximum 0,5 mg/1

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What to do?
• If vessel has Sewage Holding tank then
discharging from Sewage Plant to be shifted to
tank before entering above areas with record
about into Engine Log Book
• If the vessel has not Sewage Holding tank
please contact your Inspection Group for the
instructions

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We need your support
• All above information is base on Local Regulations , which are not part of MARPOL.
• We are collection this information from Agency, vessels, etc.
• Some Local Regulations are not available on English.
• If you will get information about some restrictions in other areas then please inform us about.
• We will update this presentation once per year.
• Thanks a lot and looking forward to good cooperation
• AMSA, the Western Australian Department of Environment Regulation and Fremantle Ports may
• instruct discharge to cease at any time and request additional effluent samples if there uncertainty
• as to the effluent quality.
• Vessels are required to report any accidental discharge in contravention of MARPOL requirements to
• AMSA and Fremantle Ports should one occur or be likely to occur.

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marpol@briese.de
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