Tag: HME

Some 200 representatives of classification societies, shipbuilders and shipowners came together in Tokyo last week for their annual ‘Tripartite Meeting’ on issues of common interest.

IMO CCC held its first session from 8 to 12 September 2014 The IMO SUB-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers (formerly DSC) held its 1st Session (CCC 1) from Monday 8 through Friday 12 September 2014. Mr Xie Hui (CHINA) was unanimously elected Chairman for the meeting as also was his Vice-Chairman, Mr Patrick Van Lancker (BELGIUM); both were subsequently re-elected for the second meeting of CCC in 2015. Delegations from Member Governments, United Nations and specialised agencies, observers from international organisations and non-governmental organisations in consultative status also attended.During the course of the meeting, 3 Working Groups (WG) and 1 Drafting Group(DG) were formed and chaired as follows :WG1 Development of International Code of safety for ships using gases or other low- flashpoint fuels (IGF Code), Mrs J Stemre (NORWAY)WG2 Harmful to the Marine Environment (HME) substances within the IMSBC Code in relation to the Revised MARPOL Annex V, Dr S Ota (JAPAN)WG3 Container Safety, Mr K Bradley (UK)DG1 Revision of DSC/Circ 12, Mr S Webb (USA)Container SafetyIssues identifying the further development of an ACEP (Approved Continuous Programmes) database were compiled as a list of Q & As for further clarification by BIC (International Container Bureau). Further, in ...

BIMCO Special Circular on Voyage HME Cargo Clause published A new clause for voyage charter parties has been published for the disposal of cargo residues and washing water from cargoes that are hazardous to the marine environment (HME). It has been developed in response to amendments to MARPOL Annex V that came into effect in 2013.Amendments to MARPOL Annex V covering the disposal of cargo residues and hold washing watercontaining materials that may be "harmful to the marine environment" (HME), took effect in January2013.In July 2013, a revised version of the BIMCO Hold Cleaning/Residue Disposal Clause for TimeCharter Parties was issued (see Special Circular No. 6 - 18 July 2013) holding charterers responsiblefor the costs and time of removal and disposal of HME cargo residues and hold washing water.Under a voyage charter party, cargo residue removal and disposal would normally be for owners'account. However, there is at present no definitive list of HME substances, leaving determination tobe made subjectively by reference to listed criteria. In turn, this relies on the accuracy and integrityof shipper declarations or decisions made by port or other officials.This, in itself, is an unsatisfactorysituation and when coupled with the lack of suitable cargo reception facilities in ...

Port reception facilities for cargoes HME under MARPOL Annex V

Greater clarity for HME cargoes re MARPOL V compliance Shipowners pleas for greater clarity on what to do when there are no adequate port receptionfacilities to receive residues including Hold Washing Water (HWW) from cargoes deemed"Harmful to the Marine Environment" (HME), have been substantially answered after animportant decision at the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee held on 13-17 May.With effect from 1 January 2013, shippers and shipowners faced difficulties in meeting therequirements of the amended MARPOL Annex V regulations which entered into force on thatday without knowing whether there were suitable facilities to process the dry residues andHWW at the receiving port.Compounded by the fact that a few shippers did not realise that the IMO had clarified inCircular MEPC.1/Circ 791 that they had to declare whether a commodity was HME or notwith immediate effect, albeit with some flexibility on the criteria used to define HME until theend of 2014, many shippers and owners were left confused as to how to comply with theregulations.However, this is set to change after Governments at the IMO meeting consideredrepresentations from Intercargo - the Dry Bulk Shipowners Association and supported byother Round Table Shipowners Associations and concerned Flag and Port States, whichidentified the scale of ...

ITOPF provides document with requirements for cargo classification as HME The discharge of non-recoverable cargo or cleaning agents contained in hold wash water is defined as "garbage" within Annex V (entered into force 31st December 1988) of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Any discharge of "garbage" at sea is regulated through thisConvention, with discharge being more heavily restricted in six defined special areas (the Mediterranean, the "Gulfs" area, the Wider Caribbean, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Antarctic). Each of these special areas has a need for more stringent controls brought about by greater sensitivity to pollution. Two further areas (the Black Sea and the Red Sea) have been proposed but are not yet in force.The 2012 amendment to MARPOL Annex V requires that as of the 1st January 2013 all shippers of bulk cargoes provisionally classify their cargoes as harmful to the marine environment (HME) or not. The classification of a cargo as HME is primarily influenced by the toxicity of the cargo itself to marine life. No cargo classified as HME may be discharged at sea, and should therefore be disposed of at a suitableReceptionFacility ...

UK P&I Club to publish booklet re new amendments Following the changes to MARPOL Annex V at the beginning of the year, the UK P&I Club has provided guidance on how to fully comply with the new amendments."How to Comply With MARPOL Annex V - New amendments governing cargo classification and the discharge of cargo hold wash water" is a new publication produced by the Club, in partnership with ITOPF, which is aimed at helping Shippers, Charterers, Owners and Crews fully understand and comply with the MARPOL Annex V changes.As a result of the amendments shippers have new responsibilities regarding cargo classification and how it affects the ability to of the crew to discharge hold wash water into the marine environment. Shippers will also need to consider whether or not the cargo residues present in the water are 'harmful to the marine environment' (HME). This booklet sets out the requirements, as well as the concept and process of classification of cargoes as HME.In addition to the booklet, the Club has produced a poster which outlines crew responsibilities in relation to these changes. The booklet is available electronically here.Source: UK P&I Club

BIMCO amendments to MARPOL Annex V concerning the disposal of cargo residue On 1 January this year, amendments to MARPOL Annex V concerning the disposal of cargo residues and hold washing water containing materials that may be harmful to the marine environment (HME) came into force. BIMCO's existing Hold Cleaning/Residue Disposal Clause for Time Charter Parties already largely addresses the correct disposal methods for cargo residues and hold washing water in accordance with MARPOL requirements. However, the new legislation also relates to cleaning agents and additives used for hold cleaning which may also be harmful to the marine environment, which is not covered by the Clause at present.As the next meeting of the Documentary Committee does not take place until 27 May, the secretariat has, in the interim, developed some suggested amendments to the Hold Cleaning/Residue Disposal Clause for Time Charter Parties to assist members. In May the Documentary Committee will be invited to formally adopt the suggested amendments and issue a revised clause.The Hold Cleaning/Cargo Residues Clause consists of three sub-clauses.Sub-clause (a) dealing with the charterers' option to request the owners to instruct the crew to carry out hold cleaning for charterers' account remains unchanged.Sub-clause (b) contains the most ...