The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) has issued a marine notice in order to describe the procedures that owners or operators of Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) flagged vessels are to follow to report inadequate port reception facilities for oily wastes, noxious liquid substances, sewage, garbage, ozone depleting substances, and exhaust gas-cleaning system residues.
It further provides the form to be used for such reporting as well as sample formats for notifying the reception facility in advance of an International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) waste delivery and for obtaining receipt of that delivery. This Notice supersedes Rev. 02/16, because revisions were necessary given that the 69th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), held from 18 to 22 April 2016, declined to extend International Maritime Organization (IMO) Circular MEPC.1/Circ.810. Also note that all of the guidance offered by IMO on adequate port State reception facilities has been consolidated into one circular: IMO Circular MEPC.1/Circ.834
Backround
Compliance with MARPOL discharge requirements may be dependent upon the availability of adequate port reception facilities, particularly within Special Areas. The lack of adequate port reception facilities in many ports worldwide poses a serious pollution threat to the marine environment. Nations that are signatories to the relevant Annexes of MARPOL must provide adequate port reception facilities to meet ships’ needs without causing undue delay to the ships for:
- oily wastes in accordance with Regulation 38 of MARPOL Annex I
- noxious liquid substances as specified in Regulation 18 of MARPOL Annex II
- sewage in accordance with Regulation 12 of MARPOL Annex IV
- garbage as per Regulation 7 of Annex V and
- ozone depleting substances and exhaust gas-cleaning system residues in accordance with Regulation 17 of MARPOL Annex VI.
When shipping companies or operators encounter inadequate port reception facilities, those allegations areto be reported accurately and in a timely manner to the RMI Maritime Administrator (“the Administrator”)and, if possible, to the appropriate port State authorities or port operators using the forms attached hereto.
This Notice applies to all RMI flagged ships subject to MARPOL. A ship means a vessel of any type whatsoever operating in the marine environment and includes hydrofoil boats, air-cushion vehicles, submersibles, floating craft, and fixed or floating platforms.
Further details may be found be reading the marine notice below
Source: IRI
