Q. The protection of marine environment is of utmost importance today. Discuss:
a. How would you as a Chief Engineer officer of a tanker ensure protection of the environment by compliance with the various regulation of MARPOL, Annex I for prevention and control of pollution at sea?
b. State requirement for compliance under Annex VI of MARPOL.
Answer:-
a) Annex – 1 Regulations for the prevention of pollution by oil which entered into force on 2nd October 1983 and, as between the parties to MARPOL 73/78 supersedes the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the sea by oil, 1954, as amended 1962 and 1969 which was then in force.
Prevention of pollution methods & aids involved are:-
1. IOPP Certificate: Reg 7
International oil pollution preventions certificate is issued after initial survey before the ship put in service to any oil tanker of 150 gross tonnage and above and any other ships 400 gross tonnage and above which are engaged in voyages to ports or offshore terminals under the jurisdiction of other parties to the present on. Such certificate shall be issued as appropriate either by the Administration or by any persons or organization duly authorized by it. In every case Admistration takes full responsibility for the certificate & valid for maximum 5 years.
2. Tanks for the oil residues (sludge) Reg. 12
Every ship of 400 GT & above shall be provided with a tank or tanks of suitable capacity having regard to type of machinery & length of voyage. Piping to & from the sludge the shall have no direct connection overboard other than standard discharge connection.
3. Oil filtering equipment Reg. 14 / Reg. 31.
Any ship above 400 GT & less than 10,000 GT shall be installed with 15 PPM oil filtering equipment which must be approved by the administration. Any ship above 10,000 GT must have 15 PPM equipment with oil discharge monitoring system with alarm when it exceeds level & automatically stops discharging overboard by either pump stop or 3 way valve. Equipment must be approved by the administration oil discharge & control system.
No discharge in the Antarctic Area is allowed.
4. Oil record book part – I Reg. 17 (machinery spares) Reg – 34 part II Cargo / Ballast operations every oil tanker of150 GT & above & every ship of 400 GT & above other than oil tanker must have ORB Part – I which must indicate transfers tanker to the, bunkering LO & FO, collection & disposal of residue, discharging O/B through approved equipment or to reception facilities must be recorded.
Part – II must be kept updated for ballast / cargo operation on each occasions on the case loading oil cargo, internal transfers, unloading oil cargo, ballasting cleaning of cargo tanks including crude oil washing, de-ballasting excluding SB tanks, discharge from slop tanks through ODMCS, disposal of residues for reception facility must be recorded.
5. Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan Reg. 37
Administration approved plan should be there for tankers 150 GT & above and others 400 G & above.
The above regulations inter alia with even more design regulations which give Damage Stability criteria etc
(b). Annex VI Prevention of air pollution form ships.
Reg : 6 An International Air Pollution Prevention Certificate shall be issued for the ships of 400 GT & above and every fixed and floating drilling rigs and other performs by the Administration, which shall not exceed 5 years.
In initial survey before the ship is put into service or before the certificate required under reg. 6 of this Annex is issued for the first time. This survey shall be such as to assure that the equipment, system, fittings, arrangements & material fully comply with the applicable requirements of their Annex.
1. Ozone depleting substances Reg. 12
Deliberate emission of the ozone depleting substances shall be prohibited unless saving life at sea or due to the accident or breakdown of the equipment. Deliberate emissions include emissions occurring in the course of maintaining, servicing, repairing or disposing of system or the equipment.
New installation which contain ozone depleting substances shall be prohibited on all the ships, except that new installations containing hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFC’s) are allowed until 1st Jan 2020.
These substances should be collected properly & delivered to the reception facility ashore.
Ship will have to maintain a list of substances containing ODP substances & a ODP Record Book
2. Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Reg. 13.
This regulation applier to each engine 130 kw & above O/P fitted on the ship constructed after 1st Jan 2000. or the diesel engine goes major conversion after 1st Jan 2000 . Major conversion means 10% change in the MCR.
His regulations will not apply to emergency generator lifeboat engines & any device or equipment which to be used solely in case emergency or costal voyage vessels which must have alternative Nox control provision set by the administration.
Nox Limits from the engines should be following: Tier II & Tier III for ECA areas
- 14.4 / 3.4 g/kwh n<130
- 44 x n-0.23 / 9 .n (-0.2) G/kwh when n >130rpm n<2000rpm.
- 7.7 / 2 g/kwh when rpm n h 2000 & above.
Provisions 6/ NOx technical code should be applied to all ship i.e. alternative provisions gives by Administration.
3. Sulphur Oxide (SOX) Reg. 14.
The sulphur content of any fuel used on board the ships shall not exceed 3.5% m/m on & after 1 January 2012 and 0.1 % m/m on & after 1 January 2015 in ECA areas.
ECA Emission Control Area
1. Baltic Sea area – as defined in Annex I of MARPOL (SOx only);
2. North Sea area – as defined in Annex V of MARPOL (SOx only);
3. North American area (Entered into effect 1 August 2012)
– as defined in Appendix VII of Annex VI of MARPOL (SOx, NOx and PM); and
4. United States Caribbean Sea area (entered into effect 1 January 2014) – as defined in Appendix VII of Annex VI of MARPOL (SOx, NOx and PM).
4. Volatile Organic Compounds Reg. 15
The emission of the volatile organic compound (VOC’s) from tankers is to be regulated in ports or terminals under jurisdiction of a party to the protocol 1997.
Ship should have a VOC Management Plan (Tanker Carrying Crude Oil & gas Carrier)
5. Shipboard Incineration Reg. 16
Shipboard incineration in permitted except for oil sludge & sewage sludge in
Port harbor & estuaries.
Shipboard incineration is prohibited for following
I: Annex I, II & III cargo residues of the present convention & related contaminated packing material.
II: Polychlorinated Biphenyl’s (PCB’s).
III: Garbage containing more than trace of the heavy metals i.e. batteries, mercury, lead etc.
IV: Polyvinyl Chloride (PUCS) exception in IMO type approved incinerator.
Monitoring of combustions flue gas outlet temperature shall be needed at all times and waste shall not be fed in continuous feed shipboard incinerator when temperature is below 850°C and unit shall be so designed to reach combustion temperature to 600°C within 5 minutes after start up.
Ship should have a mandatory Manufacturers Operating Manuel for the Incinerators
6. Fuel Oil Quality Reg. 18
Fuel oil onboard for combustion purpose should meet ISO 8217 standards with following requirements.
I): Fuel oil shall be blend of HC derived from petroleum refining & small amounts of additives are permitted to improve performance aspects.
II): Free from inorganic acids
III): Fuel Oil should not have added chemical base which can jeopardize the ship, be harmful to persons, and contribute to additional air pollutions.
IV): Sulphur content must not exceed 3.5% m/m & SECA area 0.1% m/m.
V): BDN must be retained board for minimum 3 years readily available for inspection.
VI): Fuel Oil samples sealed and signed by supplier or supplier representative or master or officer in-charge of bunker operations. Samples to be retained on board for minimum 12 months.
- Ships will have to have a Fuel Change Over Procedures Log Book ( For ships using separate F.O’s while entering and leaving ECA)
- Ship should have mandatory BDN and Representative sample for the purpose of inspection
Chapter 4: Energy Efficiency
- All engines of 130 kW and above will have to be certified and after survey and will be issued a EIAPP certificate. (as per Nox Technical Code) and also maintain a Nox Technical file and Record of Engine Parameters
- Ship will also be issued a IEEC – International Energy Efficiency Certificate
- Ships > 400 GT will have to have a approved SEEMP for which it will be issued a certificate
- Ships > 400 GT should have a EEDI Technical File ( not for ships with diesel electric propulsion, turbine propulsion & hybrid propulsion)
