USCG published a Work Instruction (WI) outlines how it will enforce MARPOL Annex VI Regulation because of the unavailability of engines needed to comply with this regulation.
Instead of complying with MARPOL Annex VI Tier III performance standards, engines covered by this guidance can be certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as meeting Clean Air Act Tier 3 requirements under 40 CFR part 1042.
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MARPOL Annex VI Regulation generally does not allow the operation of any engine in the North American and US Caribbean Sea NOx Emission Control Areas (ECA) that does not comply with the MARPOL Annex VI Tier III requirements if the engine is installed on a ship that is constructed in 2016 or later, or if the engine undergoes a major conversion in 2016 or later.
Engines certified to meet Clean Air Act Tier 3 requirements are available and will be accepted in the short-term, until engines certified to meet Annex VI Tier III become available.
Thus, EPA certification to Clean Air Act Tier 3 standards will be required to qualify under this WI for U.S.-flagged and foreign-flagged vessels.
The USCG will delay enforcement on the operation of engines on select categories of individually-identified U.S.-flagged and foreign-flagged ships, described as ‘qualifying ships,’ that are subject to the prohibition set out in the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (MARPOL) Annex VI7 Regulation 13.5.1.2.
Qualifying ships constructed in 2016 or later will be allowed to operate engines within the ECA without the risk of USCG enforcement action even though the engines are not “MARPOL compliant engines”.
These “qualifying engines” will retain that status indefinitely and they will be considered “qualifying engines” after MARPOL-compliant engines become available and continuing for the operating life of the engine.
To obtain recognition of “qualifying engine” status, the person responsible for making a US-flagged ship’s initial application for inspection must submit a written request for a one-time authorization for all engines on a particular ship that need to be qualified when submitting form G-3752, Application for Inspection of U.S. Vessel.
Only the following categories of ships and engines will qualify under this WI:
In addition to the engine size and build date applicability, the following apply as well:
- Diesel engines installed on U.S.-flagged ships are not excused from meeting Clean Air Act standards for marine diesel engines under 40 CFR part 1042;
- Engines more than 600 kW built after the Clean Air Act Tier 4 standards start to apply must be certified to the Clean Air Act Tier 4 standards if they will be installed on a U.S.-flagged ship;
- The provisions in 40 CFR 1042.650(d) exempting auxiliary engines on Category 3 ships from Clean Air Act standards are conditioned on meeting current standards under Annex VI; engines excused from meeting the MARPOL Tier III NOx standard under this WI may not also use the exemption provisions of 40 CFR 1042.650(d);
- Diesel engines installed on foreign-flagged ships must be certified by EPA to the Clean Air Act Tier 3 standards as a condition of qualifying for the USCG’s enforcement discretion with respect to the MARPOL Tier III NOx standards;
- Engines that fall within the scope of an exemption under Annex VI, for example, VI / 13.5.2, must avail themselves of that exemption before seeking to qualify under this WI;
- “Qualified engines” undergoing modification are subject to the major conversion requirements of Regulation 13.2;
- “Qualified engines” are only within the scope of this WI while installed on the ship associated with the IAPP acknowledging their “qualified engine” status.
