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MEPC.1/Circ.900 10 June 2022
2022 GUIDANCE REGARDING THE DELIVERY OF EGCS RESIDUES TO PORT
RECEPTION FACILITIES
1 The Marine Environment Protection Committee, at its seventy-eighth session
(6 to 10 June 2022), approved the 2022 Guidance regarding the delivery of EGCS residues to port reception facilities, as set out in the annex.
2 In this context, the Committee recalled that regulation 17.1.2 of MARPOL Annex VI requires that each Party undertake to ensure the provision of facilities adequate to meet the needs of ships using its ports, terminals or repair ports for the reception of exhaust gas cleaning residues from an exhaust gas cleaning system.
3 Member Governments are invited to bring the annexed Guidance to the attention of Administrations, port State authorities, industry, relevant shipping organizations, shipping companies and other stakeholders concerned.
4 The Committee agreed to keep this Guidance under review in light of experience gained.
2022 GUIDANCE REGARDING THE DELIVERY OF EGCS RESIDUES
TO PORT RECEPTION FACILITIES
1 INTRODUCTION
These best practices are intended to assist both ship operators and port States in assuring the proper management and disposal of EGCS residues from exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCSs) into port reception facilities.
2 DEFINITIONS
Discharge water: Any water from an EGCS to be discharged overboard.
Washwater: Cleaning medium brought into contact with the exhaust gas stream for the reduction of SOX and particulate matter.
Bleed-off water: Aqueous solution removed from the washwater of an EGCS operating in closed-loop mode to keep its required operating properties and efficiency.
EGCS residue: Material removed from the washwater or the bleed-off water by a treatment system or discharge water that does not meet the discharge criterion, or other residue material removed from the EGCS.
Emissions: according to regulation 2.1.12 of MARPOL Annex VI*, means any release of substances, subject to control by this Annex, from ships into the atmosphere or sea.
3 BEST PRACTICE
Discharge water from open and closed-loop EGCSs
3.1 In sea areas including ports, harbours and estuaries where the discharge of EGCS discharge water is prohibited, ships using an EGCS should keep their discharge water on board in dedicated holding tank(s) for delivery to port reception facilities, either in the port of call or in the next port of call able to accept the discharge water accordingly. However, outside these areas, the temporary stored discharge water could be discharged into the sea in accordance with the discharge criteria given in paragraph 10.1.7 of the 2021 Guidelines for Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (resolution MEPC.340(77)).
3.2 Port States should provide adequate reception facilities for this discharge. However, depending on the number of ships that will need this service and the frequency and amount of discharge water to be delivered, the port, in conjunction with the port State, may decide if the appropriate reception facilities at their berths should be permanent or provided on an individual basis.
* The regulation numbers in the Guidance refer to the 2021 Revised MARPOL Annex VI, as adopted by resolution MEPC.328(76), which was accepted on 1 May 2022 in accordance with article 16(2)(f)(iii) of MARPOL and which will enter into force on 1 November 2022.
3.3 In cases where discharge water is to be disposed of in non-permanent facilities, ports
should have arrangements with a hazardous waste contractor(s), who can supply a suitable portable/mobile facility depending on the amount of discharge water to be collected. For EGCS discharge water collected in either permanent or mobile facilities, the water should be disposed of according to the appropriate and environmentally sound waste disposal methods.
EGCS Residues
3.4 Residues generated by the EGCS should be appropriately managed on board and delivered ashore to adequate reception facilities according to the 2011 Guidelines for Reception Facilities under MARPOL Annex VI (resolution MEPC.199(62)). Such residues should not be discharged into the sea. Additionally, they should not be mixed with other waste streams and not be burnt in the ship's incinerators.
3.5 As EGCS residues are not to be discharged into the sea, the ships that produce these types of waste should have on board:
.1 where applicable, evidence of a contract to prove that arrangements are in
place to deliver the waste in the region where the ship is operating;
.2 waste receipts from the use of that contract to prove previous deliveries of such waste; such receipts should be kept on board for a period of 12 months after the delivery has been made; and
.3 an estimation of the amount of EGCS residues the produced on a daily basis,
with records of the volume of solids and sludge produced.
3.6 This information will allow the master of the ship to prove that there are appropriate mechanisms in place to dispose of this waste in an environmentally sound manner.
