Lloyd’s Register (LR) informs that new regulations will come into effect regarding the discharge of oil, oily mixtures, and garbage within the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Special Areas.
In particular, from 1 January 2025, new restrictions will apply to ships regarding the discharge of garbage, oil, and oily mixtures within the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Special Areas. This is the result of the following IMO Resolutions:
- Resolution MEPC.381(80) establishes the discharge requirements of regulations 15.3, 15.5, and 34.3 to 34.5 of MARPOL Annex I for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Special Areas in accordance with Regulation 38.8.1 of MARPOL Annex I.
- Resolution MEPC.382(80) establishes the discharge requirements of Regulation 6 of MARPOL Annex V for the Red Sea Special Area in accordance with Regulation 8.2 of MARPOL Annex V.
What should shipowners, ship managers, and ship operators do now?
From 1 January 2025, the following requirements apply:
MARPOL Annex I – Regulations 15.3, 15.5, and 34.3 to 34.5:
All ships:
On or after 1 January 2025, any discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from ships of 400 gross tonnage and above shall be prohibited within the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Special Areas, except when all the following conditions are satisfied:
- The ship is proceeding en-route.
- The oily mixture is processed through oil filtering equipment meeting the requirements of regulation 14.7 of Annex I.
- The oil content of the effluent without dilution does not exceed 15 parts per million.
- The oily mixture does not originate from cargo pump room bilges on oil tankers.
- The oily mixture, in the case of oil tankers, is not mixed with oil cargo residues.
Oil tankers:
On or after 1 January 2025, any discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from the cargo area of an oil tanker shall be prohibited while in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Special Areas. This requirement does not apply to the discharge of clean or segregated ballast.
MARPOL Annex V – Regulation 6:
On or after 1 January 2025, the discharge of garbage into the sea within the Red Sea Special Area shall only be permitted while the ship is en-route and as prescribed by Regulation 6 (Discharge of garbage within special areas) of MARPOL Annex V.
