MARPOL

Marpol 73/78 is the
International Convention
for the Prevention of
Pollution From Ships,
1973 as modified by the
Protocol of 1978 .
("Marpol" is short for
marine pollution and 73/78
short for the years 1973
and 1978.)
Marpol 73/78 is one of the
most important
international marine
environmental conventions.
It was designed to minimize
pollution of the seas,
including dumping, oil and
exhaust pollution. Its stated
object is: to preserve the
marine environment
through the complete
elimination of pollution by
oil and other harmful
substances and the
minimization of accidental
discharge of such
substances.
The original MARPOL
Convention was signed on
17 February 1973, but did
not come into force. The
current Convention is a
combination of 1973
Convention and the 1978
Protocol. It entered into
force on 2 October 1983.
As of 31 December 2005,
136 countries, representing
98% of the world's shipping
tonnage, are parties to the
Convention.
All ships flagged under
countries that are
signatories to MARPOL are
subject to its requirements,
regardless of where they
sail, and member nations
are responsible for vessels
registered under their
respective nationalities.[1]
Annexes
Marpol contains 6 annexes,
concerned with preventing
different forms of marine
pollution from ships:
Annex I - Oil
Annex II - Noxious Liquid
Substances carried in
Bulk
Annex III - Harmful
Substances carried in
Packaged Form
Annex IV - Sewage
Annex V - Garbage
Annex VI - Air Pollution
A State that becomes party
to Marpol must accept
Annex I and II. Annexes III-
VI are voluntary annexes.
Annex I entered into force
on 2 October 1983. Annex II
entered into force 6 April
1987. As of October 2009,
150 countries representing
almost 99.14% of the
world's tonnage had
become party to Annexes I
and II.
Annex III entered into force
on 1 July 1992 and (as of
October 2009) 133
countries representing over
95.76% of the world's
tonnage had become party
to it.
Annex IV entered into
force on 27 September
2003 and (as of October
2009) 124 countries
representing over 81.62% of
the world's tonnage had
become party to it.
Annex V entered into force
on 31 December 1988 and
(as of October 2009) 139
countries representing over
97.18% of the world's
tonnage had become party
to it.
Annex VI entered into
force on 19 May 2005 and
(as of October 2009) 56
countries representing over
46% of the world's tonnage
had become party to it.
Amendments
Marpol Annex VI
amendments according
with MEPC 176(58) will
come in to force 1 July
2010.
Amended Regulations 12
concerns control and
record keeping of Ozone
Depleting Substances.
Amended Regulation 14
concerns mandatory fuel
oil change over procedures
for vessels entering or
leaving SECA areas and FO
sulphur limits.
Implementation and
enforcement
In order for IMO standards
to be binding, they must
first be ratified by a total
number of member
countries whose combined
gross tonnage represents at
least 50% of the world’s
gross tonnage, a process
that can be lengthy. A
system of tacit acceptance
has therefore been put
into place, whereby if no
objections are heard from
a member state after a
certain period has elapsed,
it is assumed they have
assented to the treaty.
All six Annexes have been
ratified by the requisite
number of nations; the
most recent is Annex VI,
which took effect in May
2005. The country where a
ship is registered (flag
state) is responsible for
certifying the ship’s
compliance with MARPOL’s
pollution prevention
standards. Each signatory
nation is responsible for
enacting domestic laws to
implement the convention
and effectively pledges to
comply with the
convention, annexes, and
related laws of other
nations. In the United
States, for example, the
relevant implementation
legislation is the Act to
Prevent Pollution from
Ships
.[1]
One of the difficulties in
implementing MARPOL
arises from the very
international nature of
maritime shipping. The
country that the ship visits
can conduct its own
examination to verify a
ship ’s compliance with
international standards and
can detain the ship if it
finds significant
noncompliance. When
incidents occur outside
such country's jurisdiction
or jurisdiction cannot be
determined, the country
refers cases to flag states,
in accordance with
MARPOL. A 2000 GAO
report documented that
even when referrals have
been made, the response
rate from flag states has
been poor.[1]
Parties
There are 161 countries
party to the agreement as
of 2005 Only 136 are listed:
Algeria, Angola, Antigua
and Barbuda, Argentina,
Australia, Azerbaijan,
Austria, the Bahamas,
Bangladesh, Barbados,
Belarus, Belgium, Belize,
Benin, Bolivia, Brazil,
Brunei, Bulgaria, Burma,
Cambodia, Canada, Cape
Verde, Chile, China,
Colombia, Comoros,
Congo, Côte d'Ivoire,
Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark,
Djibouti, Dominica,
Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial
Guinea, Estonia, Finland,
France, Gabon, The
Gambia, Georgia, Germany,
Ghana, Greece, Guatemala,
Guinea, Guyana, Honduras,
Hungary, Iceland, India,
Indonesia, Iran, Ireland,
Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan,
Kazakhstan, Kenya, North
Korea, South Korea, Latvia,
Lebanon, Liberia, Libya,
Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malawi, Malaysia, Malta,
Marshall Islands,
Mauritania, Mauritius,
Mexico, Moldova, Monaco,
Mongolia, Morocco,
Mozambique, Namibia,
Netherlands, New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway,
Oman, Pakistan, Panama,
Papua New Guinea, Peru,
Philippines, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Russia,
Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines
, Samoa, São Tomé and
Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia
and Montenegro,
Seychelles, Sierra Leone,
Singapore, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Solomon Islands,
South Africa, Spain, Sri
Lanka, Suriname, Sweden,
Switzerland, Syria, Togo,
Tonga, Trinidad and
Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey,
Tuvalu, Ukraine, United
Kingdom, United States,
Uruguay, Vanuatu,
Venezuela, Vietnam