MARPOL ANNEX V

Marpol is an important maritime convention that deals with marine pollution. One of the
problems with marine pollution is that vast areas of the oceans are not under control of any
one country. While conventions such as the Basel Convention prevent trans-boundary
movement of hazardous wastes, in case of maritime issues, it is difficult to demarcate clear cut
boundaries.

One of the earliest attempts for maritime protection is the UN convention on the law of the
sea (UNCLOS) which also has a number of environmental measures including prevention of oil
pollution and prevents deliberate dumping of harmful materials. But to provide more specific
pollution prevention and protection measures even beyond national maritime boundaries,
Marpol was evolved. It can trace its origin to the UN convention on human environment.
Under Marpol, all ships carrying flags of countries that are parties to the convention must
adhere to its requirements.

For this reaon and other ones MARPOL was created.

Also marpol has 5 annexes which are regulations to prevent pollution by different factors
produced either by ships or cargoes carried by ships.

each of the annexes develops different problems about pollution, such as:

Annex I Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Oil which talks about all the measures
that must be taken in the case of an oil spill.

Annex II Regulations for the Control of Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk which
details the discharge criteria and measures for the control of pollution by liquid noxious
substances transported in bulk

annex iii Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances Carried by Sea in Packaged Contains
general requirements for the issuing of detailed standards on packing, marking, labeling,
documentation, stowage, quantity limitations, exceptions and notifications

annex iv Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships Contains requirements to control

pollution of the sea by sewage; The discharge of sewage into the sea is prohibited, except
when the ship has in operation an approved sewage treatment plant

annex v Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships

Deals with different types of garbage and specifies the distances from land and the manner in
which they may be disposed of; The most important feature of the Annex is the complete ban
on the disposal into the sea of all forms of plastics.

annex vi Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships Sets limits on sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide
emissions from exhausts and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances;
designated emission control areas set more stringent standards for SOx, NOx and particulate
matter.
In the case of Annex 5 of the Marpol, it has 9 regulations which deal with the control of
garbage produced by ships.

Each one of the regulations mentions a part about the control of garbage produced by ships,
such as:

regulation 1: definitions, treats some definitions as being garbage which is defined according
to marpol as all types of domestic, domestic and operational wastes, excluding fresh fish and
its parts, generated during the normal operation of the vessel and susceptible to be eliminated
continuously or periodically.

regulation 2 application, deals with who applies this agreement and according to the marpol
applies to all ships.

Regulation 3 Disposal of garbage outside special areas: the disposal at sea of all plastics,
including synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets, plastic garbage bags and ashes from plastic
incinerators

the elimination of garbage will depend on the type of garbage that is, such as:

25 nautical miles for stowage material, liner and packaging that will float;

12 nautical miles for food waste and all other waste, including paper products, rags, glass,
metal, bottles, tableware and similar waste

regulation 4 Special requirements for disposal of garbage: Subject to the provisions of

paragraph 2 of this regulation, the elimination of any material regulated by this Annex is
prohibited on fixed or floating platforms dedicated to exploration, exploitation and associated
processing offshore resources minerals from the seabed, and from all other vessels when
together or within 500 m of said platforms.

regulation 5 Disposal of garbage within special areas: For the purposes of this Annex, the
special areas are the area of the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea area, the Black Sea area,
the Red Sea area, the "Gulf area" , the North Sea area, Antarctica and the Greater Caribbean
Region. including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

regulation 6 exceptions:

Regulations 3, 4 and 5 of this Annex shall not apply to:

the disposal of garbage from a ship necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of a ship
and those on board or saving life at sea;

The escape of garbage resulting from damage to the ship or its equipment provided all
reasonable precautions have been taken before and after the occurrence of the damage, for
the purpose of preventing or minimizing the escape

The accidental loss of synthetic fishing nets, provided that all reasonable precautions have
been taken to prevent such loss.

regulation 7 Reception facilities:

The Government of each Party to the Agreement undertakes to guarantee the supply of
facilities in the ports and terminals for the reception of garbage, without causing undue delays
to the ships, and in accordance with the needs of the ships that use them.

The Government of each Party shall notify the Organization for transmission to interested
Parties in all cases where it is alleged that the facilities provided under this regulation are
inadequate.