New IMO report available for British Marine Members to

Published on: 25 May 2023

A new report is now available following the 10th session of the IMO's Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR), held from the 24-28 April 2023.

The main items of interest from this meeting were the following:

• Approval of the 2023 revised Guidelines for the control and management of ships' biofouling to minimise the transfer of invasive aquatic species
• ICOMIA information paper (PPR 10/INF.24) on biofouling management for recreational boating which was developed in cooperation with the GloFouling Partnerships project
• Progress on amendments to MARPOL Annex VI and NOx Technical Code on the use of multiple operational profiles for a marine diesel engine

The 10th session of the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR) was held on the 24-28 April 2023 with a full report available to download from the British Marine website.

The key items of interest from this meeting were:

Review of the 2011 Guidelines for the control and management of ships' biofouling to minimise the transfer of invasive aquatic species (resolution MEPC.207(62)) - The Sub-Committee approved the draft 2023 guidelines for the control and management of ships' biofouling to minimise the transfer of invasive aquatic species and the associated draft MEPC resolution, with a view to their adoption by MEPC 80.

Some vessels use in-water hull cleaning systems to remove biofouling. In order to reduce the risk of release of potentially invasive species during in-water hull cleaning, the Sub-Committee agreed that only verified systems should be used. New guidelines for the verification of in-water cleaning systems were proposed at this session. MEPC 80 will be requested to extend the completion year to 2025 for this agenda item and amend the title to "Development of guidance on matters relating to in-water cleaning". Interested parties are invited to submit proposals to PPR 11.

As part of this agenda item ICOMIA, IUCN and World Sailing submitted document PPR 10/INF.24 "Biofouling management for recreational boating - recommendations to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive aquatic species". Developed in cooperation with the GloFouling Partnerships project, the document contains practical advice and recommendations for biofouling prevention and management applicable to all types of recreational craft. The Sub-Committee noted the contents of this paper.

2023 Guidelines for the development of the inventory of hazardous materials - The Sub-Committee approved the amendments to the 2015 Guidelines for the development of the inventory of hazardous materials to add cybutryne to the list of hazardous materials. This follows the entry into force of the amended Anti Fouling Systems (AFS) Convention which introduced controls on the use of cybutryne in anti-fouling paint from 1 January 2023.

Draft unified interpretation to the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention - The Ballast Water Management Convention provides definitions for "Constructed" and "Major Conversion". However, there is no such distinction on the International Ballast Water Management Certificate which only includes a provision for the "Date of Construction" to be entered. This has resulted in confusion around whether the "Date of Construction" field should be updated to show the "Date of major conversion". This has implications for the applicability of D2 standard, i.e., the installation of a ballast water treatment system.

It was agreed that for a ship that has undergone a major conversion, the date of commencement of the major conversion should be filled in the "Date of Construction" field of the BWM certificate.

Development of amendments to MARPOL annex VI and the NOX Technical Code on the use of multiple operational profiles for a marine diesel engine - Modern electronically controlled engines can be programmed to optimise engine performance at various loads. When optimised for fuel consumption, there will be a corresponding increase in NOX emissions and vice versa. The various modes to which an engine may be programmed are referred to as "maps". The Sub-Committee is working towards clarifying the extent to which an engine map can be changed without contravening Regulation 13.9 of MARPOL Annex VI.

Revision of MARPOL Annex IV and associated guidelines to introduce provisions for record-keeping and measures to confirm the lifetime performance of sewage treatment plants - As may be recalled from PPR 9, work on the revision of MARPOL Annex IV and associated guidelines to introduce provisions for record-keeping and measures to confirm the lifetime performance of sewage treatment plants is ongoing. A correspondence group was established and their report is contained in attached document PPR 10/12. The Sub-Committee noted that the Group agreed that provisions for sewage record book and sewage management plan should be required by all ships and concurred with the Group's recommendation to request MEPC for a consequential expansion of the scope of work of the output to introduce provisions for a sewage management plan and record-keeping on all ships under MARPOL Annex IV.

The full IMO report and its associated documents can be downloaded from the British Marine websitehere.

Technical Reports & Guidelines | British Marine

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