Resolution MEPC.156(55)

AMENDMENTS TO THE ANNEX OF THE PROTOCOL OF 1978 RELATING TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PREVENTION OF POLLUTION FROM SHIPS, 1973
(Revised Annex III of MARPOL 73/78)

(Adopted on 13 October 2006)

 

 

THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION COMMITTEE,

 

RECALLING article 38(a) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (the Committee) conferred upon it by international conventions for the prevention and control of marine pollution,

 

NOTING article 16 of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the "1973 Convention") and article VI of the Protocol of 1978 relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the "1978 Protocol") which together specify the amendment procedure of the 1978 Protocol and confer upon the appropriate body of the Organization the function of considering and adopting amendments to the 1973 Convention, as modified by the 1978 Protocol (MARPOL 73/78),

 

RECALLING further that, at its fifty-fourth session, it had endorsed the proposal by the DSC Sub-Committee regarding the timeframe leading to the entry into force of the revised MARPOL Annex III to make it coincide with the entry into force of amendment 34-08 to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code,

 

HAVING CONSIDERED the proposed amendments to Annex III of MARPOL 73/78 (revised Annex III),

 

1. ADOPTS, in accordance with article 16(2)(d) of the 1973 Convention, the amendments to Annex III of MARPOL 73/78, the text of which is set out at Annex to the present resolution;

 

2. DETERMINES, in accordance with article 16(2)(f)(iii) of the 1973 Convention, that the amendments shall be deemed to have been accepted on 1 July 2009, unless prior to that date, not less than one-third of the Parties or Parties the combined merchant fleets of which constitute not less than 50 per cent of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant fleet, have communicated to the Organization their objection to the amendments;

 

3. INVITES the Parties to note that, in accordance with article 16(2)(g)(ii) of the 1973 Convention, the said amendments shall enter into force on 1 January 2010 upon their acceptance in accordance with paragraph 2 above;

 

4. REQUESTS the Secretary-General, in conformity with article 16(2)(e) of the 1973 Convention, to transmit to all Parties to MARPOL 73/78 certified copies of the present resolution and the text of the amendments contained in the Annex; and

 

5. REQUESTS FURTHER the Secretary-General to transmit to the Members of the Organization which are not Parties to MARPOL 73/78 copies of the present resolution and its Annex.

 

Annex.
AMENDMENTS TO ANNEX III OF MARPOL 73/78
(Revised Annex III)

 

The existing text of MARPOL Annex III is replaced by the following:

 

"REGULATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY HARMFUL SUBSTANCES CARRIED BY SEA IN PACKAGED FORM

Regulation 1.
Application

 

1. Unless expressly provided otherwise, the regulations of this Annex apply to all ships carrying harmful substances in packaged form.

 

.1 For the purpose of this Annex, "harmful substances" are those substances which are identified as marine pollutants in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code)* or which meet the criteria in the Appendix of this Annex.

 

.2 For the purposes of this Annex, "packaged form" is defined as the forms of containment specified for harmful substances in the IMDG Code.

 

2. The carriage of harmful substances is prohibited, except in accordance with the provisions of this Annex.

 

3. To supplement the provisions of this Annex, the Government of each Party to the Convention shall issue, or cause to be issued, detailed requirements on packing, marking, labelling, documentation, stowage, quantity limitations and exceptions for preventing or minimizing pollution of the marine environment by harmful substances.*

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* Refer to the IMDG Code adopted by the Organization by resolution MSC.122(75), as amended by the Maritime Safety Committee.

 

4. For the purposes of this Annex, empty packagings which have been used previously for the carriage of harmful substances shall themselves be treated as harmful substances unless adequate precautions have been taken to ensure that they contain no residue that is harmful to the marine environment.

 

5. The requirements of this Annex do not apply to ship’s stores and equipment.

 

Regulation 2.
Packing

 

Packages shall be adequate to minimize the hazard to the marine environment, having regard to their specific contents.

 

Regulation 3.
Marking and labelling

 

1. Packages containing a harmful substance shall be durably marked with the correct technical name (trade names alone shall not be used) and, further, shall be durably marked or labelled to indicate that the substance is a marine pollutant. Such identification shall be supplemented where possible by any other means, for example, by use of the relevant United Nations number.

 

2. The method of marking the correct technical name and of affixing labels on packages containing a harmful substance shall be such that this information will still be identifiable on packages surviving at least three months’ immersion in the sea. In considering suitable marking and labelling, account shall be taken of the durability of the materials used and of the surface of the package.

 

3. Packages containing small quantities of harmful substances may be exempted from the marking requirements.*

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* Refer to the specific exemptions provided for in the IMDG Code adopted by resolution MSC.122(75), as amended.

 

Regulation 4.**
Documentation

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** Reference to "documents" in this regulation does not preclude the use of electronic data processing (EDP) and electronic data interchange (EDI) transmission techniques as an aid to paper documentation.

 

1. In all documents relating to the carriage of harmful substances by sea where such substances are named, the correct technical name of each such substance shall be used (trade names alone shall not be used) and the substance further identified by the addition of the words "MARINE POLLUTANT".

 

2. The shipping documents supplied by the shipper shall include, or be accompanied by, a signed certificate or declaration that the shipment offered for carriage is properly packaged and marked, labelled or placarded as appropriate and in proper condition for carriage to minimize the hazard to the marine environment.

 

3. Each ship carrying harmful substances shall have a special list or manifest setting forth the harmful substances on board and the location thereof. A detailed stowage plan which sets out the location of the harmful substances on board may be used in place of such special list or manifest. Copies of such documents shall also be retained on shore by the owner of the ship or his representative until the harmful substances are unloaded. A copy of one of these documents shall be made available before departure to the person or organization designated by the port State authority.

 

4. At any stopover, where any loading or unloading operations, even partial, are carried out, a revision of the documents listing the harmful substances taken on board, indicating their location on board or showing a detailed stowage plan, shall be made available before departure to the person or organization designated by the port State authority.

 

5. When the ship carries a special list or manifest or a detailed stowage plan, required for the carriage of dangerous goods by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, as amended, the documents required by this regulation may be combined with those for dangerous goods. Where documents are combined, a clear distinction shall be made between dangerous goods and harmful substances covered by this Annex.

 

Regulation 5.
Stowage