LR Statutory Alert
Under MARPOL Annex VI, volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from tankers are required to be controlled by vapour emission control systems (VECS) at designated ports and terminals.
Regulation 15.2 requires parties to the MARPOL Convention intending to regulate VOC emissions at their ports or terminals to notify the IMO of the effective date of the controls, the applicable tanker size and the cargoes requiring VECS. They must notify the IMO a minimum of six months before the effective date.
Tankers not fitted with VECs
Under regulation 15.5, tankers not fitted with VECS may be accepted at designated ports and terminals for up to three years from the effective date of the controls. This is to enable them to fit systems should they intend to trade to those ports and terminals in the future.
Which ports and terminals are designated?
IMO MEPC.1/Circ.774 contains a list of designated ports intending to regulate VOC emissions. These ports are in the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea.
Note: three Netherlands ports have broadly described the cargoes requiring VECS as “Cargoes with VOC”. This description therefore affects cargoes carried on chemical and product tankers as well as oil tankers.
Source: Lloyd’s Register
