1 Subject to the provisions of regulation 4 of this annex and paragraphs
2, 3, and 6 of this regulation, any discharge into the sea of oil or oily
mixtures from ships shall be prohibited.
A Discharges outside special areas
2 Any discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from ships of 400
gross tonnage and above shall be prohibited except when all the following
conditions are satisfied:
| .1 |
the ship is proceeding en route; |
| .2 |
the oily mixture is processed through an oil filtering equipment
meeting the requirements of regulation 14 of this Annex; |
| .3 |
the oil content of the effluent without dilution does not exceed
15 parts per million; |
| .4 |
the oily mixture does not originate from cargo pump-room
bilges on oil tankers; and |
| .5 |
the oily mixture, in case of oil tankers, is not mixed with oil
cargo residues. |
B Discharges in special areas
3 Any discharge into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from ships of 400
gross tonnage and above shall be prohibited except when all of the following
conditions are satisfied:
| .1 |
the ship is proceeding en route; |
| .2 |
the oily mixture is processed through an oil filtering equipment
meeting the requirements of regulation 14.7 of this Annex; |
| .3 |
the oil content of the effluent without dilution does not exceed
15 parts per million; |
| .4 |
the oily mixture does not originate from cargo pump-room
bilges on oil tankers; and |
| .5 |
the oily mixture, in case of oil tankers, is not mixed with oil
cargo residues. |
4 In respect of the Antarctic area, any discharge into the sea of oil or oily
mixtures from any ship shall be prohibited.
5 Nothing in this regulation shall prohibit a ship on a voyage only part
of which is in a special area from discharging outside a special area in
accordance with paragraph 2 of this regulation.
C Requirements for ships of less than 400 gross tonnage
in all areas except the Antarctic area
6 In the case of a ship of less than 400 gross tonnage, oil and all oily
mixtures shall either be retained on board for subsequent discharge to
reception facilities or discharged into the sea in accordance with the
following provisions:
| .1 |
the ship is proceeding en route; |
| .2 |
the ship has in operation equipment of a design approved by the
Administration that ensures that the oil content of the effluent
without dilution does not exceed 15 parts per million; |
| .3 |
the oily mixture does not originate from cargo pump-room
bilges on oil tankers; and |
| .4 |
the oily mixture, in case of oil tankers, is not mixed with oil
cargo residues. |
D General requirements
7 Whenever visible traces of oil are observed on or below the surface of
the water in the immediate vicinity of a ship or its wake, Governments of
Parties to the present Convention should, to the extent they are reasonably
able to do so, promptly investigate the facts bearing on the issue of whether
there has been a violation of the provisions of this regulation. The
investigation should include, in particular, the wind and sea conditions, the
track and speed of the ship, other possible sources of the visible traces in the
vicinity, and any relevant oil discharge records.
8 No discharge into the sea shall contain chemicals or other substances
in quantities or concentrations which are hazardous to the marine
environment or chemicals or other substances introduced for the purpose
of circumventing the conditions of discharge specified in this regulation.
9 The oil residues which cannot be discharged into the sea in
compliance with this regulation shall be retained on board for subsequent
discharge to reception facilities.
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