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MARPOL Annex V 2012 amendments: stricter controls on bulk cargo wash water discharge at sea

The discharge of non-recoverable cargo or cleaning agents contained in hold wash water is defined as “garbage” within Annex V (entered into force 31st December 1988) of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Any discharge of “garbage” at sea is regulated through this Convention, with discharge being more heavily restricted in six defined special areas (the Mediterranean, the “Gulfs” area, the Wider Caribbean, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Antarctic).   Each of these special areas has a need for more stringent controls brought about by greater sensitivity to pollution. Two further areas (the Black Sea and the Red Sea) have been proposed but are not yet in force.

The 2012 amendment to MARPOL Annex V requires that as of the 1st January 2013 all shippers of bulk cargoes provisionally classify their cargoes as harmful to the marine environment (HME) or not. The classification of a cargo as HME is primarily influenced by the toxicity of the cargo itself to marine life. No cargo classified as HME may be discharged at sea, and should therefore be disposed of at a suitable Reception Facility (RF).

ITOPF has prepared a document which sets out the shippers’ responsibilities regarding notification, the general methodology of cargo classification as HME, and some common questions regarding the process of cargo eco-toxicity testing.

ITOPF was requested to provide advice regarding the new responsibilities of both shippers and crew by the UK P&I club, who had themselves received numerous enquiries from ITOPF associate members regarding the matter.

16th May 2013

 

ITOPF joins the World Ocean Council and co-chairs a session defining an “Arctic Business Leadership Council”

 

ITOPF has joined the World Ocean Council (WOC) an international, cross-sectoral alliance for private sector leadership and collaboration in “Corporate Ocean Responsibility”. ITOPF is particularly interested to link with WOC’s work to catalyse circumpolar, multi-industry collaboration on responsible Arctic activities.

Dr. Karen Purnell, ITOPF Managing Director said, “With our remit as a not-for-profit organisation established by the world's shipowners to promote an effective response to marine spills of oil, chemicals and other hazardous substances, this fits well with the WOC mission to create cross-sectoral industry leadership and collaboration on marine environmental challenges”.

“While our remit is global, we are especially interested to engage with leadership companies through the WOC to further progress an ‘Arctic Business Leadership Council’ in order to help ensure the safe and responsible activities in the Arctic”, she added.

Dr Tim Lunel, Support & Development Director at ITOPF will be co-chairing and presenting in a special Arctic session at the Sustainable Ocean Summit (SOS 2013), 22-24 April, 2013, Washington D.C. In this session WOC will continue to advance the effectiveness of the “Arctic Business Leadership Council”.

The SOS 2103 Arctic session will build on the WOC “Arctic Business Leadership Council” workshop (Reykjavik, 16 September, 2012) that brought together more than 30 representatives from shipping, oil and gas, fisheries, mining, marine science/technology and other industries. These companies also participated in the Arctic Council’s first ever “Informal Business Dialogue” convened by its Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) (Reykjavik, 17 September 2013).

At the SOS 2013, companies will further explore how to mobilise multi-sectoral leadership and collaboration among responsible companies on the future of the Arctic. 18th April 2013

 

MPA and ITOPF renew pioneering agreement to expedite oil spill compensation claims

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF) renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 10 April aimed at expediting the processing of oil spill compensation claims.

The MOU on Oil Spill Resources was first signed in 2007 and Singapore was the first country in the world to establish such an agreement that covered a pre-agreed schedule of rates for oil spill response resources. The agreement was supported by the International Group of P&I Clubs and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund. In addition to establishing a pre-agreed schedule of rates to expedite claims settlements, the MOU helped ensure necessary resources were available to handle oil spills. As part of the renewal, the schedule of rates were reviewed and updated based on current market conditions.

Mr Cheong Keng Soon, MPA's Director (Port), said "The pre-agreed schedule of rates, as a result of the MOU, has come in useful during the post-incident claims and compensation process. The MOU is testimony to the close partnership forged between MPA and industry players in combating any oil spills and protecting the marine environment."

Richard Johnson, Technical Director of ITOPF commented that "The MOU has proven successful in expediting compensation payment for the benefit of all involved parties. Having pre-agreed rates at the time of a spill is extremely helpful and it is most pleasing that the MPA and ITOPF have worked closely to keep the initiative alive and up to date. The MOU, along with arrangements whereby ITOPF is usually invited to work alongside MPA in order to offer advice and assistance during an incident, is a good example of industry/government co-operation."

The renewal of the MOU was signed by MPA's Director (Port) Mr Cheong Keng Soon and ITOPF's Technical Director Richard Johnson during the opening of the International Chemical and Oil Pollution Conference and Exhibition (ICOPCE) 2013. 11th April 2013

 

2013/14 ITOPF Handbook Available

ITOPF HandbookA new edition of the ITOPF Handbook has just been published. This contains a wealth of valuable information and guidance for those likely to be involved in spills of oil and chemicals from ships. Information is provided on ITOPF’s technical and information services, the fate and effects of marine oil spills, clean-up techniques, the organisation of spill response and planning, the status of international conventions and ITOPF staff.

Download the full version in PDF format (1 MB)

Hard copies of the Handbook are also available.  They are free to ITOPF Members and Associates, as well as to closely related groups. Single copies are also available to others on request - contact Terry Goodchild. 10th April 2013

 

ITOPF’s TIPs Now Available in French / Les GIT de l’ITOPF sont maintenant disponibles en francais

ITOPF’s new series of Technical Information Papers (TIPs) is now available in French.  The 17 papers provide practical guidance on many aspects of oil and chemical spill response in the marine environment, including contingency planning, dispersants, shoreline clean-up, waste disposal and claims.  They are based on the experience of ITOPF's technical staff at almost 700 pollution incidents worldwide and reflect recent developments and technological advances. The papers are available in PDF and printed formats; see ITOPF’s French Publications page for further details.  Chinese editions of the TIPs are also available and Spanish, Russian and Korean versions will follow later this year.

La version révisée des Guides d’Informations Techniques (GIT) de l’ITOPF sont désormais disponibles en français. Les 17 guides apportent des conseils pratiques sur de nombreux aspects de la lutte contre les déversements d’hydrocarbures et pollution chimique dans le milieu marin, notamment la planification d’urgence, l’utilisation des dispersants, le nettoyage du littoral, le traitements des hydrocarbures et déchets et les demandes d’indemnisations. Ces guides sont basés sur l’expérience du personnel technique de l’ITOPF, forte de plus de 700 incidents à travers le monde, et reflètent les récentes avancées technologiques. Ces guides sont disponibles en format PDF ainsi qu’en version imprimé ; Pour plus d’information, voir la page Publications françaises de l’ITOPF. Les éditions de ces GIT sont également disponibles en chinois et les versions en espagnol, russe et coréen suivront dans le courant de l’année.

5 April 2013

 

Updated oil movements data on ITOPF’s WebGIS

GIS graphic

Oil Movements 2011 from ITOPF’s WebGIS

Data on oil movements for 2011 is now available on ITOPF’s WebGIS site.  Raw data on laden oil tanker shipments was obtained from Lloyds List Intelligence and digitalised into individual GIS journeys, based on an established route network.  The result is a schematic showing major tanker routes, traffic density and an approximation of the total volume of cargo carried within any specific region. Datasets for 2001 and 2005 data are also available, which enables an assessment of the changing patterns in transportation of oil by sea and, consequently, the changing risk. ITOPF’s GIS platform has proved a powerful tool for visualising tanker voyages and can be integrated with datasets such as location of historical spills and environmentally sensitive areas, in order to assist with planning and preparedness for oil spill events.

The GIS maps can be accessed at http://www.itopf.co.uk/information-services/data-and-statistics/gis-map/.12 March 2013

 

Oil spilt from accidents involving tankers is at an all time low

 

Quantities of oil spilt >7 tonnes (rounded to the nearest thousand), 1970 -2012

 

Accidental oil spills from tankers now constitute a negligible proportion of oil finding its way into the marine environment, as demonstrated by ITOPF’s annual statistics released today. While no accident involving an oil spill should be ignored as both government and industry strive towards ‘zero tolerance’, to put the figures into perspective, the volume of oil spilt during 2012 represents less than one millionth of the quantity of oil transported by sea. As ITOPF’s figures have historically been rounded to the nearest 1,000 tonnes, the volumes spilt recently are now so low that they can be said to be around baseline levels.

In terms of the number of incidents, there were no large spills (>700 tonnes) recorded for 2012 and, although 7 medium sized spills (7-700 tonnes) were recorded, up from 2010 and 2011, they resulted in less oil being spilt overall.

These figures are good news for tanker operators and governments alike as they work to continually improve both safety and environmental performance.

Further details on the number and quantity of spills from tanker accidents since 1970, together with figures and tables, are available on the statistics page of ITOPF’s website and in ITOPF’s annual statistics package.

29th January 2013

 

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