Discharge of Sewage
Raw sewage must not be discharged from a holding tank unless the vessel is more than 12 miles from land and underway.
Sewage from an approved comminuting and disinfecting system discharged unless the vessel is more than 4 miles from land.
Must not be
Liquid sewage from vessels with a sewage treatment plant of approved specification can be discharged less than 4 miles from land but the sludge must be discharged at least 12 miles from land.
Extreme care must be taken to ensure that, when sewage is being discharged, there is no likelihood of the effluent entering the sea water inlets for fresh water generators. If there is any possibility of this occurring then the FW generator must be stopped whilst discharge of the sewage tank is in progress.
Disposal of Garbage
The permitted discharge into the sea of various types of garbage is defined in MARPOL 73/78, Annex. Please refer to Company MARPOL Poster pasted onboard.
It should be noted that plastics may not be discharged anywhere at sea and consequently plastic wrappings etc must be separated and retained for disposal ashore or incinerated onboard.
Several incidents have arisen on where the Owner/Master has been fined for disposing of garbage contrary to the MARPOL regulations either by disposal in a prohibited area or incorrect garbage transfer/handling procedures.
Garbage Record Book
In keeping with the MARPOL regulations, all vessels are provided with a Garbage Record Book which must log the disposal of all garbage whether at sea or in port.
The book must be available for inspection if required by any authorized surveyor. Additional copies of the book are available from the Company.
Ballast Water
Organisms carried in the ballast water in vessels that have ballasted in certain areas are believed to present a hazard to environmentally sensitive areas when ballast water is discharged.
Log Book entries should be made whenever any operation regarding ballast is carried out to comply with ballast water legislation. The polluting organisms are mainly carried in the sediment in ballast water tanks and, where stability requirements permit, ballast tanks should not be stripped dry.
In the case of U.S. ports where states require discharge of ballast ashore:
a) If segregated ballast cannot be discharged to shore it should be discharged to sea and ballast taken into tanks or holds that can be discharged ashore.
b) Where ballast cannot be taken into tanks or holds that can be discharged ashore it should be reduced to a minimum amount to be retained onboard prior to arrival,commensurate with local regulations, weather conditions, stress limitations and safe navigational practices.
And stability as per chief mate jobs
Bilge Water
Bilge water can only be discharged in accordance with the requirements of MARPOL 73/78, as amended.
Exhaust Emissions
Funnel emissions are strictly monitored in most countries.
The following general precautions should be taken:
a) Soot blowing in port should be avoided.
b) The Deck OOW
Should advise the Duty Engineer whenever smoke is seen emitting from the funnel.
c) When initially starting the main engine a watch should be kept and the engine room notified if smoke or sparks are evident.
d) If an occasion arises where an unavoidable emission of dark smoke is foreseen, prior notice should be given to the Port Authorities whenever possible