Garbage Disposal Requirements for Ships
New garbage disposal regulations under the revised MARPOL Annex V will be immediately effective on January 1st, 2013. Shipping crews must be educated of the new requirements, and must know how to follow the updated garbage management protocols. Records of garbage disposal must be kept accurate and current at all times, and must follow the format of the new garbage record book, which will now include new garbage categories as listed under the revised MARPOL Annex V.
Effective Compliance within the Offshore Industry
The offshore oil and gas companies are expected to be vigilant and transparent in their compliance to all current garbage disposal regulations, given the nature of their industry. In general, all construction vessels, FPSOs, MODUs, anchor handling, and supply vessels are routinely checked by the oil company’s own auditor for compliance. For the offshore industry, compliance with garbage disposal laws is enforced by both port authorities and oil company auditors, in order to prevent garbage pollution from ships.
The Ocean Is Not a Garbage Can
Under the new regulations, specifically Regulation 10 of MARPOL Annex, all vessels at least 12m or longer, as well as all fixed and floating platforms, must display placards informing all crew and cruise ship passengers of the proper garbage disposal requirements. The placards must be written in the language of the ship’s crew to ensure proper understanding of the law regarding the garbage being produced by vessels. Cruise ships that travel to other ports or offshore terminals belonging to the nations that participated as Parties to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea must also display the same instructional placards in English, French, or Spanish.
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