Australian Maritime Safety Authority issued a notice, in order to provide general information to shipowners, masters and crews on recent changes to the format of the Garbage Record Book, as required under Australian legislation 1 , in accordance with Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).
AMSA notes that, under MARPOL Annex V, every ship of 400 gross tonnage and above, and every ship certified to carry 15 or more persons engaged in international voyages is required to maintain a Garbage Record Book. The record book, whether as a part of the ship’s official log-book or separate, is to be in the form specified in MARPOL Annex V. From 1 December 2017, all Garbage Record Books purchased from AMSA’s website or at local AMSA offices, will be in the updated format, which aims to simplify the recording process. Operators can still use the previous version of the record book until 1 March 2018.
The requirements to maintain and retain the Garbage Record Book onboard the ship remain unchanged. However, the main change is that the Record of Garbage Discharges will be divided into Part I and Part II. Amendments have also been made to align the terminology in the Format of the Garbage Record Book and the Record of Garbage Discharges. Part I of the Record of Garbage Discharges will be for the use of all ships. Part II will be only required for ships that carry solid bulk cargoes. Part I and Part II will be produced as two separate record books.
Part I A. Plastics B. Food wastes C. Domestic wastes D. Cooking oil E. Incinerator ashes F. Operational wastes G. Animal carcass(es) H. Fishing gear I. E-waste Part II J. Cargo residues (non-Harmful to the Marine Environment) K. Cargo residues (Harmful to the Marine Environment). The penalties for MARPOL breaches in the Protection of the Sea include the power to detain vessels. A detention requires the owner to post an undertaking of considerable financial security. Further information may be found in the following notice: Source: AMSA
