1 Introduction
1.1 Regulations 15 and 34 of MARPOL Annex I prohibit the discharge
into the sea of oil and regulation 13 of Annex II prohibits the discharge into the
sea of noxious liquid substances except under precisely defined conditions. A record
of these operations shall be completed, where appropriate, in the form of an Oil or
Cargo Record Book as applicable and shall be kept in such a place as to be readily
available for inspection at all reasonable times.
1.2 The regulations referred to above provide that whenever visible traces of oil are
observed on or below the surface of the water in the immediate vicinity of a ship or
of its wake, a Party should, to the extent that it is reasonably able to do so,
promptly investigate the facts bearing on the issue of whether or not there has been
a violation of the discharge provisions.
1.3 The conditions under which noxious liquid substances are permitted to be
discharged into the seas include quantity, quality and position limitations, which
depend on category of substance and sea area.
1.4 An investigation into an alleged contravention should therefore aim to establish
whether a noxious liquid substance has been discharged and whether the operations
leading to that discharge were in accordance with the ship's Procedures and
Arrangements Manual (P and A Manual).
1.5 Recognizing the likelihood that many of the violations of the discharge
provisions will take place outside the immediate control and knowledge of the flag
State, article 6 of MARPOL provides that Parties shall cooperate in the detection
of violations and the enforcement of the provisions using all appropriate and
practicable measures of detection and environmental monitoring, adequate procedures
for reporting and gathering evidence. MARPOL also contains a number of more specific provisions designed to
facilitate that cooperation.
1.6 Several sources of information about possible violations of the discharge
provisions can be indicated. These include:
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.1 reports by masters: article 8 and Protocol I of MARPOL require, inter alia, a ship's master to report certain
incidents involving the discharge or the probability of a discharge of oil
or oily mixtures, or noxious liquid substances or mixtures containing such
substances;
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.2 reports by official bodies: article 8 of MARPOL requires furthermore that a Party issue instructions to
its maritime inspection vessels and aircraft and to other appropriate
services to report to its authorities incidents involving the discharge or
the probability of a discharge of oil or oily mixtures, or noxious liquid
substances or mixtures containing such substances;
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.3 reports by other Parties: article 6 of MARPOL provides that a Party may request another Party to
inspect a ship; the Party making the request shall supply sufficient
evidence that the ship has discharged oil or oily mixtures, noxious liquid
substances or mixtures containing such substances, or that the ship has
departed from the unloading port with residues of noxious liquid substances
in excess of those permitted to be discharged into the sea; and
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.4 reports by others: it is not possible to list exhaustively all sources of
information concerning alleged contravention of the discharge provisions;
Parties should take all circumstances into account when deciding upon
investigating such reports.
1.7 Action which can be taken by States other than the flag or port States that have
information on discharge violations (hereinafter referred to as coastal States):
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.1 coastal States, Parties to MARPOL, upon receiving a report of pollution by oil or noxious
liquid substances allegedly caused by a ship, may investigate the matter and
collect such evidence as can be collected; for details of the desired
evidence reference is made to appendices 3 and 4;
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.2 if the investigation referred to under sub-paragraph .1 above
discloses that the next port of call of the ship in question lies within its
jurisdiction, the coastal State should also take port State action as set
out in paragraphs 2.1 to 2.6 below;
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.3 if the investigation referred to in sub-paragraph .1 above
discloses that the next port of call of the ship in question lies within the
jurisdiction of another Party, then the coastal State should in appropriate
cases furnish the evidence to that other Party and request that Party to
take port State action in accordance with paragraphs 2.1 to 2.6 below;
and
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.4 in either case referred to in subparagraphs .2 and .3 above and if the
next port of call of the ship in question cannot be ascertained, the coastal
State shall inform the flag State of the incident and of the evidence
obtained.
2 Port State action
2.1 Parties shall appoint or authorize officers to carry out investigations for the
purpose of verifying whether a ship has discharged oil or noxious liquid substances
in violation of the provisions of MARPOL.
2.2 Parties may undertake such investigations on the basis of reports received from
sources indicated in paragraph 1.6 above.
2.3 These investigations should be directed toward the gathering of sufficient
evidence to establish whether the ship has violated the discharge requirements.
Guidelines for the optimal collation of evidence are given in appendices 3 and 4.
2.4 If the investigations provide evidence that a violation of the discharge
requirements took place within the jurisdiction of the port State, that port State
shall either cause proceedings to be taken in accordance with its law, or furnish to
the flag State all information and evidence in its possession about the alleged
violation. When the port State causes proceedings to be taken, it shall inform the
flag State.
2.5 Details of the report to be submitted to the flag State are set out in appendix
16.
2.6 The investigation might provide evidence that pollution was caused
through damage to the ship or its equipment. This might indicate that a ship is not
guilty of a violation of the discharge requirements of MARPOL Annex
I or Annex II provided that:
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.1 all reasonable precautions have been taken after the
occurrence of the damage or discovery of the discharge for the purpose of
preventing or minimizing the discharge; and
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.2 the owner or the master did not act either with intent to cause damage or
recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probably result.
2.7 However, action by the port State as set out in chapter 3 of these Procedures may
be called for.
3 Inspection of crude oil washing (COW) operations
3.1 Regulations 18, 33 and 35 of MARPOL Annex I, inter alia, require that crude oil
washing of cargo tanks be performed on certain categories of crude carriers. A
sufficient number of tanks shall be washed in order that ballast water is put only
in cargo tanks which have been crude oil washed. The remaining cargo tanks shall be
washed on a rotational basis for sludge control.
3.2 Port State Authorities may carry out inspections to ensure that crude oil washing
is performed by all crude carriers either required to have a COW system or where the
owner or operator chooses to install a COW system in order to comply with regulation 18 of MARPOL Annex I. In addition compliance
should be ensured with the operational requirements set out in the Revised
specifications for the design, operation and control of crude oil washing
systems (resolution A.446(XI), as amended). This can best be done in the
ports where the cargo is unloaded.
3.3 Parties should be aware that the inspection referred to in paragraph 3.2 may also
lead to the identification of a pollution risk, necessitating additional action by
the port State as set out in chapter 3 of these Procedures.
3.4 Detailed guidelines for in-port inspections of crude oil washing procedures have
been approved and published by IMO (Crude Oil Washing Systems, revised edition,
2000) and are set out in part 4 to appendix 3.
4 Inspection of unloading, stripping and prewash operations
4.1 Regulation
16 of MARPOL Annex II requires Parties to MARPOL to appoint or authorize
surveyors for the purpose of implementing the regulation.
4.2 The provisions of regulation 16 are aimed at ensuring in principle that a ship
having unloaded, to the maximum possible extent, noxious liquid substances of
category X, Y or Z, proceeds to sea only if residues of such substances have been
reduced to such quantities as may be discharged into the sea.
4.3 Compliance with these provisions is in principle ensured in the case of
categories X, Y and Z substances through the application of a prewash in the
unloading port and the discharge of prewash residue water mixtures to reception
facilities, except that in the case of non-solidifying and low viscosity categories
Y and Z substances, requirements for the efficient stripping of a tank to negligible
quantities apply in lieu of the application of a prewash. Alternatively for a number
of substances ventilation procedures may be employed for removing cargo residues
from a tank.
4.4 Regulation 16.6 permits the Government of the receiving Party to exempt a ship
proceeding to a port or terminal under the jurisdiction of another Party from the
requirement to prewash cargo tanks and discharge residue/water mixtures to a
reception facility.
4.5 Existing chemical tankers engaged on restricted voyages may by virtue of regulation
4.3 of MARPOL Annex II be exempted from the quantity limitation
requirements of regulations 12.1 to 12.3. If a cargo tank is to be ballasted or
washed, a prewash is required after unloading category Y or Z substances and prewash
residue water mixtures must be discharged to shore reception facilities. The
exemption should be indicated on the certificate.
4.6 A ship whose constructional and operational features are such that ballasting of
cargo tanks is not required and cargo tank washing is only required for repairs or
dry-docking may by virtue of regulation 4.4 be exempted from the provisions of regulation
12 of MARPOL Annex II provided that all conditions mentioned in
regulation 4.4 are complied with. Consequentially, the certificate of the ship
should indicate that each cargo tank is only certified for the carriage of one named
substance. It should also indicate the particulars of the exemption granted by the
Administration in respect of pumping, piping and discharge arrangements.
4.7 Detailed instructions on efficient stripping and prewash procedures are included
in a ship's Procedures and Arrangements Manual. The Manual also contains alternative
procedures to be followed in case of equipment failure.
4.8 Parties should be aware that the inspection referred to in paragraphs
1.3 and 1.4 above may lead to the identification of a pollution risk or of a
contravention of the discharge provisions, necessitating port State action as set
out in chapter 3 of these Procedures.
4.9 For details in respect of inspections under this section reference is made to
appendix 4.