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MARPOL 73/78

At the international level, the issue of preventing pollution from ships was considered for the first time in 1926 in Washington at a conference of representatives of 13 states. The United States proposed at this conference to introduce a complete ban on oil discharges from ships and warships.

It was decided to establish a system of coastal zones in which the discharge of an oil mixture with an oil content exceeding 0.05% would be prohibited. The establishment of the width of such zones was left to the discretion of the states, but it should not exceed 50 miles. To avoid the discharge of ballast water on ships, the installation of separators was encouraged. The flag state was to require ships to respect the established no-go zones. A preliminary draft of the Convention was created, which was never adopted.

The Council of the League of Nations in 1936 decided to convene an international conference to consider the project, but further events in the world made it impossible to convene a conference.

After the end of World War II, the issue was raised again at the UN. Many States stressed the need for pollution prevention measures at the international level. In 1954, at the initiative of Great Britain, an International Conference was convened in London, at whichInternational Convention for the Prevention of Marine Oil Pollution OILPOL-54. It was the first international agreement to prevent marine pollution from ships and came into force on July 26, 1958.

The 1954 Convention tried to solve the problem in two ways:

1. Establishment of "Forbidden Zones" with a length, as a rule, of 50 miles from the coast, in which the discharge of oil and oil mixture was prohibited in the proportion of 100 or more parts of oil per 1 million parts of the mixture (100 mg/l);

2. Equipment in each main port of reception facilities capable of receiving oil residues from oil-contaminated ballast or tank washing water remaining on the ship from ships other than tankers using this port, provided that such water has passed the separation process using oil separators, a sump tank or other means.

The Conference provided for the convening of a new conference to take further action three years after the entry into force of the Convention. Thus, in 1962, IMAM convened an International Conference at which the first amendments to the 1954 Convention were adopted.

The 1962 amendments increased the size of the “prohibited zones to 100 and 150 miles, and also included tankers with a gross tonnage of more than 150 tons (previously, tankers with a capacity of 500 tons or more) were included in the scope of the Convention.

In 1969, the Convention was substantially supplemented by amendments regulating the discharge of ballast water from a tanker under the following conditions:

1. Their total number in the ballast run should not exceed 1/15000 of the total cargo capacity of the tanker.

2. Instantaneous discharge rate must not exceed 60 liters per mile.

3. Discharge may not occur closer than 50 miles from shore.

Amendments and additions were made to the OILPOL-54 convention. However, the low effectiveness of this international agreement on the prevention of marine oil pollution in the context of rapidly developing oil transportation was recognized.

The need for global protection of the world's oceans from pollution became obvious and already in 1973International Maritime Organization - IMOacceptedInternational Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL-73).

After acceptanceMARPOL-73conventionOILPOL-54stopped working.

By 1978 the participantsMARPOL-73were only three states. By this time, as a result of tanker accidents, new requirements had already been formulated that needed to be included in MARPOL-73. In February 1978, the International Conference on the Safety of Tankers and the Prevention of Marine Pollution was held in London, in which 62 states took part. As a result of the work of the Conference, on February 17, two protocols were adopted, one of which was the protocol of 1978 toInternational Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973(Protocol MARPOL-78).

The MARPOL-78 Protocol became a completely independent document in relation to MARPOL-73 and included all the provisions of MARPOL-73 (Article I of the Protocol).

The 1978 Protocol entered into force on 2 October 1983 and is now party to more than 90 nations whose gross tonnage accounts for approximately 90% of the gross tonnage of the world merchant fleet.

The 1973 Convention, as modified by the 1978 Protocol, is now known asInternational Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL-73/78).

The Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78) consists of the Convention and its Protocols, which establish general provisions on the obligations of the Parties to prevent pollution of the sea by specific pollutants: oil, harmful chemicals carried in bulk, substances carried in packaged form, sewage, garbage and air pollution from ships.

The Convention contains general definitions of such concepts as a ship, harmful substance, discharge and others, supplemented in each of the Annexes. Ships as defined by this Convention are all ships, including hovercraft and hydrofoils, submarines, fixed and floating platforms.

Warships and state-owned non-commercial vessels are excluded from the scope of the Convention, but Parties should ensure that, to the extent possible, they also act in accordance with the Convention. The Convention provides that any violation of it, including the Annexes, is prohibited regardless of the place of its commission, and for such a violation in the legislation of each state party to the Convention, under the flag of which the ship flies, penalties should be established.

In the ConventionMARPOL-73/78measures are envisaged to reduce and prevent pollution of the environment by harmful substances that are transported on ships or formed during their operation.

The rules covering various sources of pollution from ships are today contained in six Annexes to MARPOL-73/78.

• Appendix I Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations. Entered into force on 02.10.83.
• Annex II Rules for the Prevention of Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances Carried in Bulk. Entered into force on April 6, 1987.
• Annex III Rules for the Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances Carried by Sea in Packages, Freight Containers, Portable Tanks, Road Tanks. Entered into force on 01.07.92.
• Annex IV Rules for the Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships. Entered into force on August 1, 2005 on the basis of Resolution MEPC 115(51) adopted on April 22, 2004.
• Annex V Rules for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships. Entered into force on December 31, 1989.
• Annex VI Rules for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships. It came into force on 01.01.05.

Currently, the MARPOL-73/78 Convention consists of three books.

Book I reproduces the modern text of the provisions of the articles, protocols and five Annexes of the Convention.

Book II contains interpretations of the provisions of MARPOL-73/78, as well as on the implementation of its annexes, in order to ensure uniformity of action in international maritime and legal practice.

Book III contains Appendix VI and the Technical Code for the Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides from Marine Engines.