MARPOL 73/78 Annexes and Its Requirements

MARPOL 73/78 Annexes and
Its Requirements

In this article all the information related to Marpol like why it was formed and

the various Annexes that fall under it have been discussed. Marpol came into the

power because of the serious concern related to the Marine pollution that was

affecting both aquatic and human life .Let’s read about this interesting topic in

much more detail.

Marpol stands for Marine Pollution and its making is clear to everybody who is

part of this industry. Marpol got its implementation in the year 1973, when it was

felt that there should some law that can laid the foundation of checking the

pollution taking place at sea. By the year 1978, this law was accepted by almost

every country and it was successfully implemented. As we know that there are

several parts of every law that covers various aspects related to it. So here we

have six different annexes that are part of this convention. So let’s discuss these

annexes in detail.

ANNEX 1‑ POLLUTION IN SEA DUE TO OIL

This annex deals with all the aspects of sea pollution related to the oil. Oil

Pollution is that major type of any undesirable event taking place at sea. Once

caused, it hampers the transfer of sun light and Oxygen in to the water. Also its

affects the sea lives like birds (It sticks to the feather of birds). The date of

implementation of Annex 1 was 2nd October 1983.

Sometimes this happens due to carelessness of crew in the ship; there is a process

in which oil and water are separated from each other, present in bilges below the

engine of ship. During this process the excess waste oil is driven and saves in a

holding tank and the separated water having drops of oil is pumped out in the sea. A

very small amount of oil exposure in the sea is allowed, perhaps due to inappropriate

systems this amount exceeds the limited value and causes leaks of oil in to the sea.

Requirements of MARPOL Annex 1

1.) Oily water mixtures from the bilges can only be thrown in to sea once it is

treated for 15PPM oil content in this water and ship should be en route condition

and 12Nautical miles away from the nearest land.

2.) For the oil water mixtures coming from the cargo tanks, it should have oil

content less than the 30 PPM and ship should be around 50 Nautical miles away

from the land and should be in en route condition. The rate of discharge in both

cases need to less than 30 litters in one nautical miles.

ANNEX II‑ POLLUTION DUE TO CARRIAGE OF NOXIOUS
SUBSTANCE

When tank cleaning is done in ships then this Annex come in to play.

Requirements of MARPOL Annex II

The concentration of effluents needs to be .1% by weight. The ships should be en

route condition throwing the effluents, it should be around 12 nautical miles

away from nearest land, and speed should be around 7 Knots. There are various

categories of substances that come under this like X,Y,Z. The date of

implementation of Annex II was 6th April 1987..

ANNEX III‑ POLLUTION DUE TO HARMFUL SUBSTANCES

As name suggests this annex deals with pollution that is caused due to the

harmful substances. In this annex Jettisoning is prohibited. The date of

implementation of Annex III was 1st July 1992.

ANNEX IV‑ POLLUTION CAUSED DUE TO SEWAGE

This annex deals with the pollution that is caused due to the discharge of sewage

in to the sea. The date of implementation of Annex IV was 22nd September 2003.

Requirements of MARPOL Annex IV

1) All the comminuted (Thoroughly crushed) and disinfected products can be

discharged 3 Nautical miles away

2) Untreated sewage in the holding tanks can be discharged at a distance

that is greater 12 Nautical miles away. And it should not contain any

floating object.

ANNEX V‑ POLLUTION CAUSED DUE TO GARBAGE

This is a very serious issue in the sea pollution. Plastics are totally banned, but

the soft plastic can be thrown but after some treatment done on it. The date of

implementation of Annex V was 1st December 1988.

Requirements of MARPOL Annex V

1) Plastics, including synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets, and plastic garbage

are not allowed to be thrown in to the water.

2) Dunnage lining and packing materials that can float needs to thrown at a

distance greater 25 Nautical miles.

3) Food wastes and all other garbage including cargo residues can be thrown at a

distance of 12 nm.

4) Garbage that has been ground or comminuted to pieces below 25mm can be

thrown at distance of 3 nautical miles.

ANNEX VI‑ POLLUTION CAUSED DUE EXHAUST GASES

Generally nitrogen oxides and Sulphur oxides harm the ozone of earth and they

need to be under the limits in the exhaust of main engine. The date of

implementation of Annex VI on 19th May 2005.

Requirements of MARPOL Annex VI

1) The engine of the ship need to be verified for controlled emissions. The

content of Sulphur in the exhaust need to be less than 4.5 %.

2) Incinerators that were installed before 2000 need to be verified as per the new

rules.

Update: From 1st January 2015, sulphur content is .1% m/m.