Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR), 3rd session, 15-19 February 2016

Draft bunker delivery note amendments agreed to address fuel supplied to ships with scrubbers

Draft amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI bunker delivery note relating to the supply of marine fuel oil to ships which have fitted alternative mechanisms to address sulphur emissions requirements were agreed by the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR), when it met for its 3rd session. 

The draft amendments to appendix V of MARPOL Annex VI are intended to address situations where the fuel oil supplied does not meet low sulphur requirements, but has been supplied to a ship which is using “equivalent means” (for example, abatement technology such as scrubbers) to reduce the sulphur oxide emissions from the ship in order to comply with MARPOL requirements.

The draft amendments will be forwarded to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70) in October 2016 with a view to approval and subsequent adoption. 

The Sub-Committee also agreed draft Guidelines for onboard sampling for the verification of the sulphur content of fuel oil used on board, for submission to MEPC 70, for consideration, with a view to approval. The guidelines provide an agreed method for sampling to enable effective control and enforcement of liquid fuel oil used on board ships under the provisions of MARPOL Annex VI.
 
Interpretations for SCRs under NOX Technical Code agreed
The Sub-Committee agreed draft unified interpretations to the NOX Technical Code 2008 related to the approval of selective catalytic reduction systems to meet NOx standards, for submission to MEPC 70 for approval. 

Draft oil pollution manuals agreed
The revised section II of the Manual on Oil Pollution – Contingency Planning; and the draft Guide on oil spill response in ice and snow conditions were agreed, for submission to MEPC 70 for approval. 

Black carbon reporting protocol drafted
The Sub-Committee developed a draft measurement reporting protocol for black carbon. The protocol provides recommendations for the voluntary collection of black carbon data, including parameters for multiple black carbon measurement instrument technologies and a broad cross-section of current engine technologies, fuel types, and engine operating conditions.

Interested delegations were invited to use the protocol and submit data to PPR 4, to facilitate its further refining.

High-viscosity and persistent floating substances addressed
The Sub-Committee began work to develop draft amendments to MARPOL Annex II to strengthen the discharge requirements for high-viscosity and persistent floating substances (such as high-viscosity PIB (Polyisobutylene), which was reviewed and reclassified in 2013).

It was agreed that the way forward would be to amend the definitions for high-viscosity and solidifying substances in MARPOL Annex II, and to require a pre-wash for such substances before discharge. Some 160 to 180 products could be affected by such amendments. Products will be reviewed to clarify which are considered high-viscosity persistent floaters or solidifying products that are persistent floaters, therefore triggering the requirement for a pre wash.
 
Work on developing the draft MARPOL amendments will continue in the intersessional meeting of the Working Group on the Evaluation of Safety and Pollution Hazards (ESPH 22) and at the next session.

Revision of IBC code continued
Work continued on the revision of chapters 17 (Summary of minimum requirements), 18 List of products to which the code does not apply) and 21 (Criteria for assigning carriage requirements for products subject to the IBC Code) of the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk (IBC Code). 

The comprehensive review of the IBC Code aims to harmonize the requirements for individual substances with the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) and the 2014 edition of the Revised Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) hazard evaluation procedure for chemical substances carried by ships. An analysis of the draft revised chapter 21, carried out by the IMO Secretariat, concluded that the revision would lead to a strengthening of carriage requirements for a significant number of cargoes listed in chapters 17 and 18 of the Code.

The analysis showed that the application of the current draft of the revised chapter 21 of the IBC Code would result in a 64% increase in products that have both safety and pollution aspects; a 145% increase in products requiring controlled venting; a 183% increase in products identified as toxic or flammable/toxic with regard to vapour detection requirements and a 102% increase in products that would now require personal protective equipment.

Work on finalising the draft chapter 21 and reviewing individual products will continue in the intersessional meeting of the ESPH Working Group. 

The aim is to finalize the review by PPR 5 (2018), so that the revised IBC Code chapters can be put forward for approval by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and MEPC in early 2018, for adoption later that year.  

Ballast water management manual nears completion
The draft of the "Ballast Water Management – How to do it" manual was further developed during the session. The manual is expected to be finalised at PPR 4, following anticipated discussions on ballast water issues during 2016 at MEPC 69 and MEPC 70.

OSV Chemical Code further developed
The Sub-Committee continued its work on the draft Code for the Transport and Handling of Limited Amounts of Hazardous and Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk in Offshore Support Vessels (OSV Chemical Code) and re-established the correspondence group to finalise the text for submission to PPR 4.

The aim is to develop a consistent regulatory framework for the transport and handling of limited amounts of hazardous and noxious liquid substances in bulk on offshore support vessels with a single certification scheme, taking into account the complex and continued evolution of the offshore industry as well as the unique design features and service characteristics of these vessels.