MARPOL Annex I

Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Oil

an introduction to the
international regulations
for the prevention of
pollution by oil
Image courtesy of Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN AS

Tim Wilkins
Regional Manager Asia-Pacific
Environmental Manager

1.
2.

MARPOL
Annex I
i.
ii.

Regulations and Chapters

Fundamentals
1. Operation
2. Construction

1. MARPOL
Torrey Canyon 1967

1959 US built, 60,000 dwt, , Li.

flagged
Jumboised to 120,000 dwt
Cargo 120,000 ts of BP oil for
Milford Haven
Navigational error caused
grounding ripping open 6 tanks
31,000,000 gallons of oil leaked
Oil spread along the sea
between England and France

1. MARPOL
Amoco Cadiz 1978

1974 built Amoco Cadiz carrying

227,000 tonnes of crude oil
ran aground off the coast of Brittany,
France at 10:00 p.m. on March 16, 1978
The whole cargo spilled out as the
breakers spilt the vessel in two,
progressively polluting 360 km of
shoreline
At the time this was the largest oil spill
by tanker ever registered.

1. MARPOL
The International Convention for the Prevention
of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)

as amended by the 1978 Protocol (MARPOL 73/78)

Just Oil

1954 OILPOL Convention

Operational

Discharge zones (50nm and 100ppm)

Reception facilities

1. MARPOL
Not just Oil

MARPOL Annexes I VI
I.

Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Oil

II.

Regulations for the Control of Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances

in Bulk

III.

Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances

Carried by Sea in Packaged Form

IV.

Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships

V.

Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships

VI.

Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships

1. MARPOL
MARPOL Implementation

1967 Torrey Canyon

1973-1978 Amoco Cadiz et al.
MARPOL 73 and the Protocol 78
MARPOL enters into force October 1983

Annex I and II - 1983

Annex III 1992
Annex V 1988
Annex IV 2003
Annex VI - 2005

2. Annex I regulations and chapters

39 regulations in 7 chapters to regulate oil pollution from ships (not
just tankers):
1.
2.

Ship/Tanker design
Ship/Tanker operation

2. Annex I regulations and chapters

39 regulations in 7 chapters to regulate oil pollution from ships (not
just tankers):
Chapter

Regulations

1-5

General: Definitions and applications

6-11

12-17

Machinery space: Construction, discharge control and equipment

(all ship types)

18-36

Cargo areas: Construction, discharge control and equipment

(oil tankers)

37

Shipboard oil pollution emergency plan (SOPEP)

38

Reception facilities

39

FPSOs and FSUs

Surveys and certification: Flag administration and Port State Control

(PSC)

2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Discharge of oil at sea (1):
all discharges of oil are prohibited unless certain criteria are satisfied

Machinery space (bilge and sludge)

All ship types

Machinery space

Bilge waste: oily water from the bilges

Sludge: waste residue from the filtration of fuel oil

Ship must be en route

Oily mixture must have been processed through the oil
filtering equipment
Oil content of the mixture does not exceed 15 parts per
million (ppm)
Oily mixture is not mixed with cargo residues (see later)

2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Discharge of oil at sea (2):
all discharges of oil are prohibited unless certain criteria are satisfied

Cargo space (slops)

Oil tankers
Must be more than 50nm from nearest land (also defined)
30 litres per nautical mile
Discharged through the Oil Discharge Monitoring
Equipment (ODME)
Maximum discharge quantity on a ballast voyage should
not exceed 1/30,000 of the total quantity of the particular
cargo of which the residue formed a part

2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Discharge of oil at sea (3):
all discharges of oil are prohibited unless certain criteria are satisfied
Oil discharge monitoring and control systems (tankers)
Regulations 31 & 32

Oil filter equipment (all ship types)

Regulation 14
Oil Discharge Monitoring Equipment (ODME)
Oily Water Separators (OWS)
Extensive review of requirements underway at IMO

2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Special Areas (1):
All the previous discharge criteria regulates outside a Special Area
Regulation 1 - A Special Area is a sea area where for recognized

technical reasons in relation to oceanographic and ecological condition

and to the particular character of its trafficspecial mandatory methods
for the prevention of sea pollution by [oil] is required.
And as such there shall be NO discharge whatsoever of cargo
residues/slops from oil tankers

2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Special Areas (2):
those listed in Annex I:

Baltic Sea
Black Sea
Red Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Gulf of Aden
Antarctic
Gulfs area
Northwest European waters
Southern South African waters
Oman area of the Arabian Sea

1983
1983
not in effect
1983
not in effect
1992
Aug 2008
1999
Aug 2008
not in effect

2. Annex I fundamentals; Operation

Reception facilities:
Regulation 38
Oil loading terminals, repair ports and ports in which ships have oily
residues to discharge
Port state obligation
Alleged inadequacies

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
How many hulls

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
Exxon Valdez 1989
OPA 90

U.S phase-out from 1995 to 2010 (except for tankers with double
bottoms (db) or double sides (ds), tankers less than 5,000 gross tons and
tankers that call at LOOP or Designated Lightering Areas)

IMO amendments to MARPOL 73/78 (adopted 3/1992, entry into force

7/1993)

Newbuildings to be double-hulls
Single-hulls to be sbt/pl or hbl from 25 years with phase-out at 30 years
old or by 2015

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
Erika 1999
IMO amendments to MARPOL 73/78 (adopted 4/2001, entry into force
9/2002)

Category 1 phase-out up to 2007

Categories 2&3 phase-out at 26 years up to 2015

BUT
Flag state may allow newer single-hulls to continue to 25 years (subject to CAS)
HOWEVER
Port state can deny such extended single-hull tankers from entering its ports

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
Oil Tanker Categorization
Category 1
pre-MARPOL (pre-1982)
Category 2
MARPOL (post-1982)
Category 3
smaller tankers (5,000-20,000/30,000dwt)

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
Prestige 2001
EU Regulation 1726/2003 (entry into force 21/10/2003)

Category 1 phase-out up to 2005

Categories 2&3 phase-out up to 2010
No Heavy Grade Oils (HGO) in single-hulls from 21/10/2003
CAS from 2005 for all Categories 2&3 over 15 years old

IMO amendments to MARPOL 73/78 (adopted 12/2003, entry into force

5/4/2005)

13G
Category 1 phase-out up to 2005
Categories 2&3 phase-out up to 2010
CAS required for Categories 2&3 over 15 years old

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
Prestige 2001
BUT
Flag state may extend Categories 2&3 up to 2015 or 25th anniversary
(whichever earlier)
Flag state may extend Categories 2&3 with db or ds which may trade up to 25th
anniversary of delivery (even past 2015)
HOWEVER
Port state may deny entry of either such flag-state-extended tankers
13H - Double hull required from 5/4/05 for Heavy Grade Oil as cargo for tankers
5,000 dwt and above, and for tankers 600-4,999 dwt (except single-hulls built
with db and ds) from anniversary date in 2008

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
Prestige 2001
BUT
Flag state may allow single-hull 5,000 dwt and above with db or ds to continue
with HGO up to 25th anniversary (even beyond 2015)
Flag state may allow single-hull 5,000 dwt and above to continue with HGO
between 900 and 945 kg/cubic meter until 25th anniversary or 2015 whichever is
earlier, subject to CAS
Flag state may allow single-hull 600-4,999 dwt to continue with HGO until 25th
anniversary or 2015 whichever is earlier
HOWEVER
Port state may deny entry of any of the above mentioned flag-state-extended
tankers carrying HGO

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
60

MARPOL (min phase out - trading of SH

until 25 years)
EU + no SH after 2010

50

OPA90

40
30
20
10

15
20

14
20

13
20

12
20

11
20

10
20

09
20

08
20

07
20

06
20

05
20

04
20

20

03

2. Annex I fundamentals; Construction

Tank (ship) construction:
100

80

49

41

33

32

29

26

23

% dwt share*:

78

60

DH

94
71

74

77

End 06

End 07

End 10*

20

59

68

End 05

51

67

End 04

40

22

End 03

End 02

1997

1991

SH/DB/DS

* Assumes phase out

according to
regulations (rounded
upw ards, 25 years
after 2010
.

2. Annex I fundamentals; Miscellaneous

Other key elements to MARPOL Annex I:
SOPEP

Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan

Certification

International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (IOPPC)

Surveys

Special Surveys (Enhanced Special Survey)

Condition Assessment Scheme (CAS)

CAS (Applies to oil tankers of 5,000 dwt and above)

CAS will be performed at intervals of up to 5 years and 6 months
First CAS to be undertaken at first renewal (ie special) survey or
intermediate survey after 5/4/05 of every tanker which has
reached its fifteenth year
CAS is to be harmonised with ESP

2. Annex I fundamentals; Miscellaneous

Other key elements to MARPOL Annex I:

Oil Record Book (ORB)

Regulation 17 and Appendix III

Part 1: Machinery space operations
Part 2: Cargo space operations

Crude Oil Washing (COW)

Fuel tank protection all ships 2010
Pump room protection double bottom in tankers after 1/1/2007
Oil outflow performance in case of accident collision or grounding

2. Annex I fundamentals; Miscellaneous

Other key elements to MARPOL\Annex I:

FPSOs/FSUs
a.

b.

c.

FPSOs and FSUs are not oil tankers and are not to be used for
the transport of oil except that, with the specific agreement by
the flag and relevant coastal States on a voyage basis,
Conversion of an oil tanker to an FPSO or FSU or vice versa
should not be construed as a major conversion as defined in
regulation 1(8)
There are five categories of discharges that may be associated
with the operation of an FPSO or FSU:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

machinery space drainage;

offshore processing drainage;
production water discharge;
displacement water discharge; and
contaminated seawater from operational purposes such as
produced oil tank cleaning water, produced oil tank hydrostatic
testing water, water from ballasting of produced oil tank to carry
out inspection by rafting.

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