Tag: IMO MEPC

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 ...

BIMCO updates EEDI calculator

65th session, from 13 to 17 May 2013 The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets for its 65th session from 13 to 17 May 2013, at IMO Headquarters in London.Items on the busy agenda include the implementation of energy-efficiency regulations and the ballast water management and ship-recycling treaties.Furtherguidelines on energy-efficiency measures for ships to be consideredThe MEPC is expected to continue its work on further developing technical and operational measures relating to energy-efficiency measures for ships, following the entry into force, on January 2013, of the new chapter 4 of MARPOL Annex VI, which includes requirements mandating the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), for new ships, and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP), for all ships.The Committee will review draft guidance developed by a correspondence group, including:draft guidelines for determining minimum propulsion power to maintain the manoeuvrability of ships in adverse conditions;draft guidance on treatment of innovative energy-efficiency technologies for calculation and verification of the attained EEDI; anddraft guidelines for the calculation of the coefficient fw for decrease in ship speed in a representative sea condition.Resolution on technical cooperation for energy efficiency measures to be discussedThe MEPC is expected to further consider the ...

International experts are meeting at IMO Headquarters this week, in the form of an Expert Workshop, to begin work on updating the inventory of greenhouse gases (GHG) from international shipping, with a view to providing reliable and up-to-date information on which IMO, through its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), might base its work on further measures to reduce GHG.The Second IMO GHG Study 2009 estimated that international shipping emitted 870 million tonnes, or about 2.7% of the global man-made emissions of CO2 in 2007. An updated GHG inventory is considered necessary as the current estimate contained in the Second study does not take account of the economic downturn experienced globally since 2008. Exhaust gases are the primary source of GHG emissions from ships, with carbon dioxide the most important GHG, both in terms of quantity and of global warming potential. An updated inventory would also provide a baseline to enable the impact to be assessed of technical and operational energy efficiency measures for international shipping that entered into force on 1 January 2013.The MEPC, at its sixty-fourth session in October 2012 endorsed, in principle, the outline for an update of the GHG emissions estimate. The Expert Workshop, meeting from 26 ...

Shipowners need to ensure they have the right garbage-disposal procedures and policies in place The 'A' rated 170 million GT North P&I Club has reminded its Members that 2013 is the first full year of operation of new international garbage-disposal rules that greatly limit the dumping of garbage at sea. The reminder comes in the latest issue of the Club's loss prevention newsletter Signals, published on January 16, 2013 .According to North's loss prevention manager Andrew Glen, 'With very few specific exceptions, the new rules reverse the historical presumption that most garbage can be discharged at a suitable distance offshore. Shipowners thus need to ensure they have the right garbage-disposal procedures and policies in place and continue to keep the seas clean throughout 2013 and beyond.'In July 2011 the International Maritime Organization adopted amendments to Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in Resolution MEPC.201(62), and issued guidelines for their implementation in Resolutions MEPC.219(63) and MEPC.220(63).Restrictions on the disposal of cargo residues and the discharge of hold wash water containing cargo harmful to the marine environment (HME) have been tightened in the revised regulations. 'Not all shippers will be aware of their obligation ...

Due to enter into force on 01 January 2013 Revised Marpol Annex V is due to enter into force on 01 January 2013.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) issued a revised Annex V to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) under Resolution MEPC.201(62). A copy of the Resolution can be read here.The revision reverses the historical presumption that garbage may be discharged into the sea based on the nature of the garbage and defined distances from shore and now prohibits the discharge of all types of garbage into the sea unless explicitly permitted in regulations 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Annex. Regulation 7 allows for limited exceptions to these regulations to cover emergencies or non-routine situations.The new regulations generally restrict discharge overboard to food wastes, identified cargo residues which are not covered by other Annexes to the Convention, animal carcasses, identified cleaning agents and additives and cargo residues entrained in hold washwater which are not harmful to the marine environment. Where possible, it is recommended that all garbage is discharged to appropriate port reception facilities.In order to assist with the implementation of and to ensure compliance with the revised ...

Legal TIP s on STS (Ship to Ship) Operations

Progress made on type approval of shipboard incinerators

Interferry Welcomes EEDI Decision

IMO MEPC Chairman praises INTERTANKO leadership on ballast water management