IACS will participate in the forthcoming 80th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80), which is expected to adopt an upgraded IMO greenhouse gas (GHG) Strategy.
Noting the work IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) Members perform as Recognized Organizations of IMO Member States, verifying compliance of ships with IMO agreed requirements, and with a view to achieve clarity for all parties, IACS has submitted or co-sponsored the following papers:
MEPC 80/4/12 discusses concerns about the temporary storage of treated sewage and grey water in the ballast tanks and provides a draft technical and operational guidance for temporarily storing treated sewage and/or grey water in ballast tanks. The intent of the guidance is to establish a uniform procedure for minimizing the impact on the environment.
MEPC 80/5/4 proposes an amendment to regulation 18.4 of MARPOL Annex VI related to gaseous and low-flashpoint fuels.
MEPC 80/6/1 proposes a revision of MEPC.1/Circ.795/Rev.6 on Unified Interpretations to MARPOL Annex VI to clarify the reporting of boil-off gas (BOG) consumed on board ships in the IMO Data Collection System (IMO DCS).
MEPC 80/6/8 seeks clarification of the term “filling rate for gas fuel tanks” used in paragraph 2.2.1 for fDFgas of the 2022 Guidelines on the method of calculation of the attained Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) for new ships (resolution MEPC.364(79)). Noting that the footnote in the table of paragraph 4.2.3.2 of the 2022 Guidelines on the survey and certification of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) (resolution MEPC.365(79)) leaves room for interpretation, this document proposes a revision of the footnote.
MEPC 80/14/1 proposes a new output to amend the 2017 Guidelines addressing additional aspects of the NOx Technical Code 2008 with regard to particular requirements related to marine diesel engines fitted with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems (resolution MEPC.291(71) as amended by resolution MEPC.313(74)) (the 2017 SCR Guidelines), with a view to facilitating the consistent and global implementation of the requirements.
MEPC 80/16/1 proposes action on a minor issue relevant to the EGCS Electronic Record Book (ERB) appearing in paragraphs 4.4.9 and 5.7.1 of 2021 Guidelines for exhaust gas cleaning systems (MEPC.340(77)), to introduce a footnote referring to Guidelines for the use of electronic record books under MARPOL (resolution MEPC.312(74)) with a view to facilitating uniform and universal implementation.
MEPC 80/INF.5 contains a copy of the 2022 Industry guidelines for calculation and verification of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the role of the verifier in conducting the verification of EEDI.
MEPC 80/INF.20 informs of the publication of IACS Recommendation No.175 on the “SEEMP/CII implementation guidelines” following the adoption of resolutions MEPC.346(78), MEPC.347(78), MEPC.352(78), MEPC.353(78), MEPC.338(76), MEPC.354(78) and MEPC.355(78).
IACS will also support the initiation of the work on carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be discussed under agenda item 7 (Reduction of GHG emissions from ships).
