Republic of the Marshall Islands

Office of the MARITIME ADMINISTRATOR

11495 COMMERCE PARK DRIVE, RESTON, VIRGINIA 20191-1506 TELEPHONE: +1-703-620-4880 FAX: +1-703-476-8522 EMAIL: maritime@register-iri.com WEBSITE: www.register-iri.com

MARINE SAFETY ADVISORY NO. 45-12 To: Subject: Regional Marine Safety Offices, Nautical Inspectors, Masters, Owners/Agents USCG ENFORCEMENT OF NORTH AMERICAN AND US CARIBBEAN SEA ECAs 31 July 2012

Date:

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has issued guidelines on: 1) how it will be verifying compliance with MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14 (Sulfur Oxides (SOx) and Particular Matter (PM)) and Regulation 18 (Fuel Oil Availability and Quality); and 2) how violations that it identifies will be documented and referred to the United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for enforcement. In general, the USCG is responsible for verifying compliance with all of MARPOL Annex VI and the EPA is responsible for the enforcement of violations pertaining to Annex VI Regulations 13, 14, and 18 in the North American Emission Control Area (ECA) (which takes full effect 1 August 2012) and US Caribbean Sea ECA (which takes full effect 1 January 2014)1 under US jurisdiction. See also Marshall Islands Marine Safety Advisory (MSA) 39-12, North American ECA to enter into force 1 August 2012. The purpose of this MSA is to highlight the steps the USCG will be taking in its enforcement efforts with respect to foreign flag vessels. The full text of the USCG policy letter establishing its enforcement guidelines and the accompanying ECA Job Aid (which contains a compliance check list and deficiency matrix for port State control officers (PSCO) to use during inspections/examinations) are found at: http://homeport.uscg.mil by selecting Domestic Vessels, Domestic General and then MARPOL Annex VI.

COMPLIANCE VERIFICATION MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14: Ship owners/operators must control SOx emissions through the use of low sulfur fuel or equivalent arrangements. Sections 2.3 and 2.6 of ships International Air Pollution Prevention (IAPP) Supplement will be checked by PSCO for compliance with Regulation 14.4.

See Resolutions MEPC.190(60) and MEPC.202(62) for the boundaries of the North America ECA and US Caribbean SEA ECA, respectively.

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Non-Availability of Compliant Fuel: When a ship owner/operator experiences a situation where low sulfur fuel is not available for purchase, MARPOL Annex VI, Regulation 18.2.4 requires notification to be made to the flag Administration; and the competent authority of the relevant port of destination. The US competent authority for the receipt of such notifications is the EPA. Thus, for Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) flagged vessels, such notifications on the non-availability of compliant fuel must be reported to: 1) 2) RMI Maritime Administrator at investigations@register-iri.com; and EPA at: http://www.epa.gove/otaq/oceanvessels.htm in accordance with an EPA issued document entitled, Interim Guidance on the Non-Availability of Compliant Fuel Oil for the North American Emissions Control Area (which is also available on that website). See also Marshall Islands MSA 37-12, EPA Guidance Regarding Non-Availability of Compliant Fuel.

Ship Fuel Oil With Sulfur Content Exceeding 1.00%: When a PSCO encounters a ship with fuel oil that exceeds the limit, the PSCO will verify notifications to the flag Administration and to EPA and will review records of actions taken to achieve compliance. The PSCO will also ask for a copy of the bunker delivery note(s) for fuel oil in use while operating in the North American ECA (VI/Reg. 18.7.1). If the required report of non-availability has not been submitted to EPA, the Master shall be requested to submit the report and the PSCO may issue a deficiency or detain the vessel in accordance with the ECA Job Aid, Domestic and Foreign Vessels (Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance (CG-CVC), 07/24/2012).

EQUIPMENT CASUALTY OR FAILURE When equipment approved by an Administration under Annex VI Regulation 4 (equivalencye.g., scrubber) for complying with the standards set forth in Regulations 13 and 14 experiences a failure, the USCG expects a certain degree of redundancy so that the ship may continue to operate in compliance with Regulation 13 or 14 (e.g., pumps, available spare parts onboard, or alternative arrangements (e.g., Low sulfur Fuel Oil tanks). The USCG will take into consideration a ship which has reported an accident or a defect in accordance with Annex VI, regulation 5.5 whose flag Administration (or their representative) has issued an interim compliance scheme and an outstanding condition due to equipment casualty or failure. RMI vessel owners that experience equipment casualty or failure should notify the Administrator immediately at technical@register-iri.com.

VIOLATIONS The USCG will refer deficiencies where EPA has the technical expertise, as agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed 27 June 2011, to the EPA for enforcement. These areas are: Engine International Air Pollution Prevention (EIAPP) Certificate issues; Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) technical code;

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Bunker delivery note; Fuel samples; Fuel oil availability/quality; and Reception facilities for ozone depleting substances.

. The USCG will not refer suspected violations of the following to the EPA, but will instead process them in accordance with existing USCG policies and regulations: IAPP Certificate issues; Certificate of Adequacy; and Volatile Organic Compound management.

In cases where there is evidence of criminal liability (e.g., intentional use of non-compliant fuel oil with falsified log books), the USCG will be the lead Agency to conduct the investigation with EPA assisting as needed.

USCG CONTACT INFORMATION Questions concerning USCG enforcement of the ECAs should be directed to the USCG Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance at: cgCVC@uscg.mil. The email subject line should include the following text: ECA-Coast Guard Policy Question or Comment.

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