Page 5: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1988)

It's Time To Prepare For MARPOL

Compliance* *Editor's Note: This exclusive ar- ticle has been excerpted from a spe- cial report by Peter P. Lombard, president, American United Marine

Corporation, and Flemming D.

Christensen, A/S Vesta.

Starting December 31, 1988, the

U.S. Coast Guard will begin enforc- ing Annex V of the Protocol of 1978 relating to the International Con- vention for the Prevention of Pollu- tion by Ships, 1973, known as MAR-

POL 73/78.

Known as "Regulations for the

Prevention of Pollution by Garbage by Ships," it defines garbage to include victual, domestic and opera- tional wastes and deals specifically with nonbiodegradable substances such as plastics.

In an article in its August 1, 1988 edition, Time reported that beaches around the world were being con- taminated with industrial, human and hospital wastes. Large amounts of marine life are being killed as a direct or indirect result of man-gen- erated pollution.

Time estimates that merchant fleets dump at least 450,000 plastic containers overboard per day. The

U.S. Navy, in an effort to lower its plastic waste disposal, has canceled an order for 11 million plastic bags and is testing alternative methods for dealing with garbage and trash.

Under Annex V of MARPOL 73/ 78, disposal into the sea is entirely prohibited for certain materials.

These include all plastics such as synthetic ropes, nets, and garbage bags. These materials must not be discharged at any time, except for the purposes of securing the safety of the ship or saving life at sea.

Other items may be disposed of as far as possible from land, but not within certain minimum distances.

These distances vary with the types of waste.

Certain sections of the sea, be- cause of their particular oceanogra- phical and ecological conditions, are designated as "special areas." With- in these special areas, which include the Mediterranean, Black, Red and

Baltic Seas and the gulf area located northwest of the line between Ras al

Hadd and Ras al Festah, all waste disposal is entirely prohibited ex- cept for the discharge of food wastes, which must be dumped at least 12 nautical miles from the nearest land.

In addition, movements are now underway to designate the Gulf of

Mexico and other ocean sections as special areas, possibly after the rules go into effect at the end of this year.

A further provision of the regula- tions states that the disposal of any materials regulated by Annex V is prohibited from fixed or floating platforms engaged in the explora- tion, exploitation, and associated offshore processing of seabed miner- al resources, and from all other ships when alongside of or within 500 meters of such platforms.

The implementation of Annex V is going to require some changes in the way most oceangoing vessels deal with their refuse.

At present, three alternative (continued)

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September, 1988 7