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The sixty-seventh session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) was held at IMO Headquarters from 13 to 17 October 2014. Key points of interest emerging from the meeting are as follows:

Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention

Significant progress was made at this meeting on major issues that were believed to have contributed on the delay of ratification of the Convention. At this session the Committee agreed to initiate an immediate revision of the G8 type-approval guidelines in order to make the process for approving ballast water equipment more robust. The Committee agreed that shipowners who have already installed ballast water management systems approved under the current G8 Guidelines should not be penalised and invited proposals to the next session on how to address this issue.

Another important issue addressed during this session was the adoption of the new guidelines for port State Control inspection for compliance with BWM Convention. The new guidelines do not contain a numeric threshold value for moving from indicative analysis to a detailed analysis for verifying compliance/non-compliance with the Convention as it was not possible to resolve this issue at this stage.

In addition, the paper submitted on ballast water exemptions/exceptions was referred to the next Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) Sub-Committee, creating confidence for Short Sea Shipping that the IMO will finally address the practical challenges faced by this sector.

The plan of study on the implementation of the ballast water performance standards described in regulation D-2 of the BWM Convention was endorsed and it was instructed that it should be initiated as soon as possible. Member States and other stakeholders were urged to support the study by providing data and financial contribution.

Finally, with regard to the guidance on stripping operations using eductors, the Committee agreed that there is no need to develop guidance as it is not recommended that ballast water sampling be performed during stripping operations.

Finally, MEPC was advised of a number of type approvals that had been issued to BWMS manufacturers since the Committee last met in April 2014. There are now 51 IMO Type Approved BWMS. Details of the approved BWMS are available on the IMO website:

http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Environment/BallastWaterManagement/Pages/BWMTechnologies.aspx

During the MEPC meeting, Turkey deposited its instrument of ratification of the BWMC. Together with Japan and Jordan which states also ratified the BWMC just prior to the commencement of the meeting, 43 countries comprising approximately 32.5% of the world's tonnage have now ratified the BWMC.

Argentina and Italy both made statements at the IMO Council meeting in June to the effect that they were very close to depositing their instruments of ratification as well. Once these two states have ratified the Convention, the tonnage figure will increase to 34.2%, some 0.8% from the 35% threshold required to bring the Convention into force.

While the capital investment, cost and the lack of approved technology has deterred some owners to date, once the Convention enters into force it will be necessary to ensure all affected vessels will be ready as per the implementation schedule. Events will move forward in any event in the USA and members trading there should be closely familiar by now with the specific US requirements: 46 CFR Part 162.

Development of a data collection system for fuel consumption of ships

At this session the Committee made significant progress toward and agreed in principal the development of a data collection system. Specifically, MEPC 67 considered a general description on how to structure the text of the data collection system which should have three distinctive parts: Part I – Ship data collection; Part II – Flag State functions in relation to the data collection and Part III – Centralised database.

The data collected from ships should:

• identify the ship (name of the ship, IMO number, flag State Administration and registered owner)
• provide technical characteristics of the ship (ship type, Ga regional T, NT, DWT, engine power, reference/design speed, EEDI (if applicable) and ice class (if applicable))'
• provide total annual fuel consumption per fuel type.

Given the fact that different views were expressed on what elements should be included in the system, it was agreed that the work of this session should focus on fuel consumption only. The decision not to consider the transport work, distance travelled, service hours and other potential data at this stage was made on the basis that the inclusion of these data would involve policy decisions which may be considered at a later session. With regard to publication of data, it was agreed that at the adoption of the system, the Organization should decide on which data should be made public and which should remain confidential.

It is emphasised that this is an IMO process, distinct from a parallel European Union rule development process, namely the proposed rule on Monitoring, Verification and Reporting regulation of fuel consumption by ships.

Guidelines for exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS)

Unfortunately, the proposal of EU countries for a calculation based methodology for verification of washwater discharge criteria for pH for EGCS as a feasible alternative to the use of actual measurements, was not given serious consideration. Instead, the matter was referred to the next Pollution Prevention and Response Sub-Committee (PPR 2) which meets in January 2015 in order to be considered in more detail together with the draft text of future amendments to the 2009 Guidelines for exhaust gas cleaning systems prepared at the last PPR1.

Bunker delivery note to permit the supply of fuel oil not in compliance with regulation 14 of MARPOL Annex VI

The current MAPROL regulation allows for equivalent technologies to be used to meet the limits of sulphur content required by Regulations 14.1 and 14.4 when operating inside and outside the emission control areas. However in the present declaration, the bunker supplier can only supply fuel which meets the limits under Regulation 14.1 or 14.4. In order to allow ships that have installed alternative technologies to meet the MARPOL regulation sulphur limits to be allowed to buy and for the oil supplier to sell fuel oil that does not meet these limits, the Committee agreed that the Bunker Delivery Note declaration might need to be amended to include additional wording to address this issue. In this respect, the PPR 2 was instructed to consider this matter and prepare draft amendments to MARPOL for consideration and approval at the next MEPC.

Fuel availability review

A report on the progress made by the correspondence group on the development of the methodology to determine the availability of fuel oil to comply with the 0.5% sulphur limits in 2020 and a summary of the comments received was presented at this session. The Committee noted the progress made and instructed the correspondence group to continue its work and to submit the final report to MEPC 68.

Fuel oil quality

Taking into consideration possible impacts that fuel oil quality may have on crew health, ship safety and environmental protection, and the proposals submitted at this session, the Committee agreed to develop draft guidance for assuring the quality of fuel oil supplied for use on board ships and to consider the adequacy of the current regulatory framework on fuel oil quality.

Garbage Record Book

No progress was made at this session with regard to the amendments to the form of the Garbage Record Book. It was considered that more work was needed as there were a number of substantial issues to be considered at the next MEPC. In order to address the pending issues the Committee invited interested parties to submit relevant comments and proposals to MEPC 68.

Energy Efficiency

Long discussions on energy efficiency of ships took place at this meeting. Some of the important decisions taken with respect to this agenda item include the adoption of 2014 Guidelines on survey and certification of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and Interim Guidelines for determining minimum propulsion power to maintain the manoeuvrability of ships in adverse conditions.

Polar Code

The Committee reviewed and approved the environmental provisions and the associated MARPOL amendments that include requirements covering prevention of pollution by oil by noxious liquid substances, by sewage, and by garbage. In particular, with regard to the prevention of pollution from oil, clarification on the prohibition of discharges into the sea for clean or segregated ballast was provided. In addition, the Committee reconfirmed the common understanding on the application and the scope of the prohibition of discharge in Antarctic and Arctic areas. For Category A vessels, that have limited capacity of bilge water holding tanks and operate continuously in Arctic waters, it was agreed that a phase-in period shall apply.

In order to limit the administrative burden, the Committee decided to consolidate recommendations concerning re-issuing of certificates, revisions to manuals and record books in a guidance document in order to be considered and approved at the next MEPC. Finally, it was agreed that the discharge requirements for cargo residues in the Antarctic area as set out in MARPOL should be extended to Arctic waters as well. The draft amendments are expected to be adopted at the next MEPC

Source: UK Chamber of Shipping