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The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 2019

Feb 2019

Legal

Jurisdiction: UK

Commencement: 1st March 2019

Amends:

The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution from Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk) Regulations 2018
The Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1013)
Environmental Regulation (Significant Environmental Harm) (Scotland) Order 2014
The Marine Strategy Regulations 2010
The Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/2055) as amended
The Merchant Shipping (Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Reporting Requirements) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/2110) as amended

Mini Summary

These Regulations apply a series of internationally agreed technical standards to UK flagged vessels and foreign flagged vessels which aim to reduce oil pollution from ships. They bring in measures to ensure oil tankers are safely built and operated and are constructed to reduce the amount of oil spilled in the event of an accident.

Full Summary

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.

The MARPOL Convention includes Regulations aimed at preventing and minimising pollution from ships, both accidental pollution and that from routine operations, and currently includes six technical Annexes. These Regulations implement Annex I.

The Regulations details the survey and certification regime for ships and the technical requirements for the construction and operation of ships and on-board equipment. This is in order to ensure UK ships are able to operate freely throughout the world and that the UK’s coastline and marine environment is protected from the risk of oil pollution from ships.

They apply to all UK ships and foreign ships whilst in UK and UK controlled waters*, with some specified exemptions for warships, naval auxiliary or other ship owned or operated by the State and used in non-commercial government service.

*Controlled waters means waters where the UK has jurisdiction and exercisable rights under The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Limits) Regulations 2014.

MARPOL

The purpose of MARPOL is to ensure that all ships are safely built and operated and are constructed in a way which reduces the amount of oil spilled in an accident.

Annex I of MARPOL has been amended IMO and these Regulations incorporate those amendments and revoke The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996 which previously implemented Annex 1.

The amendments to Annex I are the result of new developments in design and construction, as well as new attitudes and events that have occured. These include:

the strengthening of a ship’s pump room protection;
new design, construction and location of oil fuel tanks;
new software technologies to aid ship stability;
changes to oil pollution emergency plans; and
changes to outflow performance requirements.

References to specific provisions of Annex I, the IMO Code for Recognised Organizations and the Polar Code are references to the most up to date versions. This removes the need for further amendments to be made to the Regulations as they are updated.

As a member of IMO, the UK has a duty to implement these changes in to UK law.

The Certifying Authority is the Secretary of State or a certification body authorised by the Secretary of State.

Duties

These Regulations apply to:

oil tankers of 150 GT and above; and
ships of 400 GT and above.

(GT means Gross-registered Tonnage)

A ship owner or master must ensure that the condition of their ship and its equipment is maintained in line with these Regulations to ensure that it is fit to proceed to sea without an unreasonable threat of harm to the marine environment.

Surveys, certificates and oil record book

Ships must have had a survey and hold a valid IOPP/UKOPP Certificate in order to proceed to or remain at sea.

Surveys

There are multiple types of survey. Ships which do not travel out of UK waters are only required to have an initial survey, renewal survey every 5 years and an additional survey, following repair or renewal of a ship.

Ships which travel in international waters are also required to have:

an intermediate survey, which must be completed within 3 months of the third or second anniversary of the issue of its IOPP certificate; and
an annual survey within 3 months of the anniversary of the issue of the IOPP certificate (apart from in the year the intermediate survey is completed).

A ship owner or master may request advice from the Secretary of State on whether a repair or renewal requires a renewal survey to be carried out.

Certificates

IOPP Certificates are issued following a successful survey.

There are two types of certificate, IOPP (International Oil Pollution Prevention) and UKOPP (United Kingdom Oil Pollution Prevention) certificates. IOPP certificates are required for ships which travel in international waters.

If an accident or defect occurs to a ship which substantially affects its integrity, or the efficiency or completeness of the equipment the owner/master must report the incident as soon as possible to the Certifying Authority that issued the certificate for the ship. UK ships in international ports must also report it to the maritime authority for the country they are in; and international ships in a UK port must also report it to the Secretary of State. The Certifying Authority will then investigate if an additional survey or any repairs are necessary.

Oil record books

All ships and oil tankers must be provided with an Oil Record Book Part I (Machinery Space Operations). Oil tankers must also have Oil Record Book Part II (Cargo/ Ballast Operations).

Part I must be completed when the following operations happen on the ship

Ballasting or cleaning of oil fuel tanks.
Discharge of dirty ballast or cleaning water from oil fuel tanks.
Collection and disposal of oil residues (sludge and other oil residues).
Discharge overboard or disposal otherwise of bilge water which has accumulated in machinery spaces.
Bunkering of fuel or bulk lubricating oil.
Failure of oil filtering equipment.

Any discharge of oil or oily mixture must also be recorded, including details of the source of and reasons for the discharge.

Part II also has other recording requirements including the requirement to record a failure of oil discharge monitoring and control system.

Entries in the book must be signed off by the officers in charge and master. The book must be kept on board the ship, be readily available for inspection at all reasonable times and kept for 3 years after the last entry is made.

Control of discharge of oil

Ships and oil tankers are only able to discharge oil and oily mixtures if the ship is en route, the mixture is filtered and does not contain more that 15 parts per million. However, the oil must not originate from the cargo pump-room bilges of an oil tanker or be mixed with oil cargo residues.

Discharging oil and oily mixtures in the Antarctic area and Arctic water and the discharge of chemicals or other substances in quantities which are harmful to the marine environment is completely prohibited.

The above provisions apply unless the discharge is;

for the purpose of securing the safety of a ship or saving life at sea;
the result of damage to the ship or its equipment but all reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent or minimise the discharge and the damage was not caused by recklessness or with intent; or
the discharge is approved for the purpose of dealing with a pollution incident.

Oil residues which cannot be discharged into the sea must be retained on board for discharge at a reception facility.

The requirement to control discharge of oil is also relevant to any ship which has caused or is likely to cause pollution within UK or controlled waters.

Construction, equipment and operation requirements

Ships

The construction, equipment and operation of the machinery space on ships must meet the requirements of the following Regulations of Annex I:

Regulation 12 (tanks for oil residues (sludge));
Regulation 12A, paragraphs 1 to 11 (oil fuel tank protection);
Regulation 13 (standard discharge connection);
Regulation 14, paragraphs 1 to 3, 6 and 7 (oil filtering equipment); and
Regulation 16 (segregation of oil and water ballast and carriage of oil in forepeak tanks)

Ships of less than 400 GT are not required to meet the above requirements but must, so far as possible, be equipped to retain oil and oily mixtures on board for subsequent discharge or to discharge of them correctly as detailed above.

Oil tankers

The construction, equipment and operation of the cargo area of oil tankers must meet the requirements of the following Regulations of Annex I:

Regulation 18 (segregated ballast tanks);
Regulation 19 (double hull and double bottom requirements for oil tankers delivered on or after 6th July 1996);
Regulation 20, paragraphs 1 to 4 and 6 (double hull and double bottom requirements for oil tankers delivered before 6th July 1996);
Regulation 21, paragraphs 1 to 4 (prevention of oil pollution from oil tankers carrying heavy grade oil as cargo);
Regulations 22 to 28 (various requirements for the cargo areas of oil tankers);
Regulation 30 (pumping, piping and discharge arrangement); and
Regulation 33 (crude oil washing requirements).

Certain double hull and double bottom oil tankers are prohibited from:

entry into UK ports or offshore terminals; and
carrying out ship to ship transfer of heavy grade oil within UK waters unless to secure the safety of a ship or to save life at sea.

Offshore Installations

Offshore installations which are involved in the exploration, exploitation or associated offshore processing of sea-bed mineral resources must comply with the requirements of these Regulations and Annex I as applicable to ships.

This does not apply to fixed or floating production platforms which are:

in designated areas under the Continental Shelf Act 1964; and
not capable of being propelled under its own power though water.

Discharges of production or displacement water, or offshore processing drainage from offshore installations are not covered by these Regulations.

Oil pollution emergency plan

All ships and oil tankers must have an oil pollution emergency plan on board which has been approved by the Secretary of State and meets the guidelines from the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the IMO.

The plan must include:

The procedure for reporting an oil pollution incident to be followed by the persons in charge of the ship.
A list of persons to contact in the event of an oil pollution incident (including national and local authorities).
A description of the immediate action to be taken on board to control the discharge.
The procedure and contact for coordinating action with authorities.

Where a ship is certified to carry noxious liquid substances in bulk, this plan can be combined with the marine pollution emergency plan for noxious liquid substances and called the Shipboard Marine Pollution Emergency Plan.

The owner / master of an oil tanker of over 5,000 tonnes deadweight must have access to computerised, shore-based damage stability and residual structural strength calculation programmes.

Ships in polar waters

Ships operating in polar waters have to comply with the environmental provisions in the introduction and Chapter 1 of part II-A of the Polar Code.

‘Polar waters’ means the antarctic area or arctic waters.

Enforcement

The Certifying Authority has the power to inspect a ship and its equipment, any part of the ship, any articles on board, and any documentation carried in the ship.

If the requirements of these Regulations have not been met they are able to detain the ship until a surveyor is satisfied that the ship does not present an unreasonable threat of harm to the marine environment.

The Certifying Authority may only go on board or detain a ship if it is in a UK port or at an offshore installation in UK waters.

The harbour master of a UK port has both the ability to detain ships where they feel an offence has been committed and the responsibility to report deficient ships to the Secretary of State.

Ship owners and masters have the right of appeal and offences under these Regulations are punishable by a fine.

Amendments

The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution from Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk) Regulations 2018

Reference to the revoked The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996 is replaced with The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 2019 to state that Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plans are required by Regulation 34 of the 2019 Regulations.

The Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017

Reference to the revoked The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996 is replaced with The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 2019 in Regulation 6 which lists the laws relevant to conservation in offshore marine areas.

Environmental Regulation (Significant Environmental Harm) (Scotland) Order 2014

Reference to the revoked The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996 is removed and reference to The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 2019 added.

The Marine Strategy Regulations 2010

The Offshore Petroleum Activities (Oil Pollution Prevention and Control) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/2055) as amended

Discharges of oil and oily mixtures from offshore installations do not require a permit under these Regulations, unless they are machinery space discharges or discharges of contaminated sea water from operational purposes which are made from:

floating production, storage and offloading facilities; or
floating storage units.

This is because discharges of oil and oily mixtures from offshore installations are already regulated by The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 2019 (regulation 33).

The Merchant Shipping (Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Reporting Requirements) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/2110) as amended

In the definition of permitted level which was inserted by The Merchant Shipping (Amendments to Reporting Requirements) Regulations 2005 reference to the revoked The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996 is replaced with The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 2019.

This has not resulted in a change to the meaning of permitted level.

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