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The Protocol of 1997 ( MARPOL Annex VI ) included the new Annex VI of MARPOL 73/78, which went in effect on the 19th of May 2005.

SOx emissions control

The purpose of the protocol was to reduce and to control the emissions coming from the marine vessels’ exhausts that pollute the environment. MARPOL convinced IMO to control the average worldwide sulfur content fuels. The Annex states that a global cap is 4.5 %m/m on the sulfur content in fuel. However, MARPOL insist on it being 1.5 %m/m in some regions classified as “SOx Emission Control Areas” (SECAs).

On the other hand, MARPOL came up with a way to avoid using an exhaust gas cleaning systems or anything else that would limit SOx emissions. In fact, the exhaust gas cleaning systems must be approved by the State Administration before put into use. The regulations on the exhaust gas cleaning systems are to set by IMO.

The monitoring of sulfur content of residual fuel supplied for use on board ships is being performed by IMO since 1999. The IMO monitors it by the bunker reports around the world. According to The Marine Envirnoment Protection Committee (MEPC) the worldwide average sulfur content in fuel oils for 2004 was 2.67 %m/m.

Ship Maneuvering out of Port S.Louis du Rhone, near Marseilles.

Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions – Regulation 13

NOx control requirements apply worldwide to any installed marine diesel engine over 130 kW of output power other than the engines used solely for emergency purposes not in respect of the marine vessel’s tonnage where the engine is installed. However, there are different levels of regulations that are based on the ship’s date of construction. Those levels are broken down into 3 Tiers. Tier I applies to the ships built after January 1st of 2000. It states that for engines below 130 rpm must have the total weighted cycle emission limit (g/kWh) of 17, engines that are between 130 and 1999 rpm must have no more than 12.1 (g/kWh), engines above 2000 rpm must have the limit of 9.8 (g/kWh). Tier II has the following requirements: 14.4 (g/kWh) for engines less than 13 rpm, 9.7 (g/kWh) for engines 130 – 1999 rpm, and for engines over 2000 rpm 7.7 (g/kWh) is the limit. Tier II limits apply to the ships constructed after January 1st of 2011. Tier III controls only apply in the specific areas where the NOx emission are more seriously controlled (NECAs) and apply to the ships constructed after January 1st of 2016. For engines under 130 rpm the limit is 3.4 (g/Kwh), engines between 130-1999 rpm the limit us 2.4 (g/kWh), engines above 2000 rpm must have the total weighted cycle emission limit of 2.0 (g/kWh).

Incineration

Annex VI prohibits burning certain products aboard the ship. Those products include: contaminated packaging materials and polychlorinated biphenyls.

Greenhouse gas policy

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has strongly encouraged members to use the scheme to report the greenhouse gasses emissions. Those gasses include Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, Hydrofluorocarbons, Perfluocarbons, and Sulfur hexafluoride. The purpose of making the guidelines on CO2 emissions is to develop a system that would be used by ships during a trial period.

New regulations in 2013

In 2013 new regulations described in a chapter added to the MARPOL Annex VI came into effect in order to improve "energy efficiency of international shipping. The regulations apply to all marine vessels 400 gross tonnage or above. MARPOL requires ship industry to use the EEDI mechanism that would ensure that all the required energy-efficiency levels are met. Also, all the ships are required to have a Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) on board, therefore, the seafarers always have a plan to refer to in order to maintain energy-efficiency levels required by the area the ship is at or sailing to at all times.

As for the additions to the Annex VI, there were corrections towards emissions, sewage, and garbage. Prior to the regulations adjusted in 2013 the sulphur emission control areas included: the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the North American Area (coastal areas of the United States and Canada). However, the updated in 2013 version of Annex VI included the United States Caribbean Sea (specifically areas around Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands) to the list.

As for the other regulations updates there is possibility of establishing “special areas” where sewage discharge laws would be outstandingly stricter then in other areas, as well as, the few minor additions to the garbage disposal laws.