Disposal of bulk cargo residues and hold washings under MARPOL Annex V

Following requests for clear procedures regarding the disposal of cargo residues and cargo hold washing water containing residues of cargoes classified as Harmful to the Marine Environment (HME) when adequate port reception facilities are not available, the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) are due to issue a circular with guidance on the procedures to be adopted.

A copy of the draft circular can be read here.

Given the problems being experienced by shippers and shipowners when dealing with cargoes classified as HME, the MEPC has agreed that as an interim solution, cargo hold wash water from holds containing HME cargoes may be discharged provided that:

• based upon the information received from the relevant port authorities, the master determines that there are no adequate reception facilities at the receiving terminal;
• the ship is en route and as far as practicable from the nearest land, but not less than 12 nautical miles;
• before washing, dry cargo residue is removed (and bagged for discharge ashore) as far as practicable and holds are swept;
• the volume of wash water used is kept to a minimum;
• filters are used in the bilge wells to collect any remaining solid particles and minimize solid residue discharge; and
• the discharge is recorded in the Garbage Record Book and the flag State is notified utilizing the Revised Consolidated Format for Reporting Alleged Inadequacies of Port Reception Facilities (MEPC.1/Circ.469/Rev.1, issued on 13 July 2007).

The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) have also produced a useful publication which outlines the measures to be taken and the process to be followed in classifying cargoes as HME.

A copy of the ITOPF publication can be read here.