This section will familiarize you with preventing pollution the marine
environment
this is an example of the damage an oil spill can cause this table shows the
quantity of crude oil in millions of tons that are transported at sea this
quantity increases each year this table shows the quantity of oil spilled as you
can see the amount of oil spilled has decreased rapidly the last years the two
previous pages showed that even though the quantity of oil transported at sea
is increasing the amount of oil spilled is decreasing the main reasons for this
are implementation of Marple the International Convention for the
Prevention of pollution from ships companies awareness and understanding of
the importance of pollution prevention better follow up from flag state and
other authorities in the USA the accidents involving the Exxon Valdez and
mega Borg were in focus and were well covered by the media and press this
influenced public opinion the result was the establishing of the Oil Pollution
Act of 1990 OPA 90 the media showed pictures of the rich animal life and the
Magnificent coastline in Alaska covered with oil and the suffering of dying
seals and sea birds this presentation made a strong impression which forced
the US Congress to realize that the existing international conventions had
to be reviewed and improved in order to protect and take care of American
interests American lawyers developed the Oil Pollution Act and the Congress
supported the proposed act the main stipulations in OPA 90 are the threat of
unlimited responsibility demands for double hulls direct access to the means
in pni companies in case of indemnity due to accidents higher graded demands
meant for the crew regarding narcotics and alcohol testing use of pilots in
sensitive waters upon entering American waters OPA requires drill training
according to open 90 regulations the drill training should be logged and
reported according the ship owner operators policy open 90
regulations are enforced for all types of ships the International Convention
for the Prevention of pollution from ships 1973 modified in 1978 is better
known as Marple 7378 this convention is one of the most
important international agreements on the subject of marine pollution these
regulations are made for the preservation of human environments in
general and the marine environment in particular the goal is to achieve the
complete elimination of international pollution of the marine environment by
oil and other harmful substances and the minimization of accidental discharge of
such substances detailed regulations covering the various sources of ship
generated pollution are contained in six annexes and x1 regulation for the
prevention of pollution by oil annex to regulation for the control of pollution
by noxious liquid substances in bulk and x3 regulation for the Prevention of
pollution by harmful substances in packaged form annex for regulation for
the Prevention of pollution by sewage from ships and x-5 regulation for the
prevention of pollution by garbage from ships and x-6 regulation for the
prevention of air pollution from ships annex one of Marple 7378
regulation for the prevention of pollution by oil chapter 1 generally it
covers subjects such as surveys and inspection the form and duration of
certificate chapter 2 requirements for control of operational pollution covers
subjects such as segregated ballast tanks crude oil washing the oil
discharge monitor the oil record book retention of oil on board chapter 3
requirements for minimizing oil pollution from oil tankers due to side
and bottom damage cover subjects such as damaged assumptions subdivision and
stability chapter for prevention of pollution arising from the oil pollution
incident covers subjects such as the shipboard oil pollution emergency plan
annex 2 of Marple 7378 regulation for the control of pollution by noxious
liquid substances in bulk annex to cover subjects such as the categorization and
listing of noxious liquid substances discharge of noxious liquid substances
pumping piping and unloading Arrangements the cargo record book
survey and certification of chemical tankers requirements for minimising
accidental pollution annex 3 regulation for the prevention of pollution by
harmful substances in packaged form an X 3 covers subjects such as packing
labeling documentation stowage quantity limitations annex for regulation for the
prevention of pollution by sewage from ships annex 4 includes such items as
surveys the form and duration of certificate discharge of sewage standard
discharge connection an X 5 regulation for the prevention of pollution by
garbage from ships annex 5 includes such items as the disposal of garbage outside
special areas special requirements for the disposal of garbage the disposal of
garbage within special areas port state control on operational requirements
annex 6 regulation for the prevention of air
pollution from ships included are guidelines for the emission of different
substances as well as specific requirements for testing surveying and
certification and fuel quality