Amendments to Marpol Annex VI – Passenger ship sewage discharge and treatment requirements for the Baltic Sea Special Area.

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Amendments to Marpol Annex VI Regulations and form of certificate were adopted. The related amendments will impact sewage management for passenger ships when operating in the Baltic Sea.

  • Published:
  • Author: Panos Mouratidis

All passenger ships visiting Baltic Sea special area must comply with the below deadlines:

– For new passenger ships will take effect from 1 June 2019

– For existing passenger ships will take effect from 1 June 2021.

– For existing passenger ships en-route between a port outside the special area and a port located east of 028°10’E will take effect from 1 June 2023.

As of these dates, passenger ships may no longer discharge untreated sewage into the Baltic Sea. A passenger ship must have a sewage treatment system (type approved) or otherwise sewage holding tanks with sufficient capacity.

Standards of sewage treatment plants should meet these new requirements were adopted through resolution MEPC 227(64) ‘Guidelines on implementation of effluent standards and performance tests for sewage-treatment plants’. Additional, the type approval certificate revised as per MEPC 284(70) amendments. Ports and terminals bordering a special area are committed to provide adequate facilities for the reception of passenger ship sewage.

Source: MEPC.227(64), MEPC.274(69), MEPC.275(69), MEPC.284(70)

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