MEPC takes decision on dates for NECAs to come into force

On April 4, 2014, IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) at its 66^th session in London has taken the decision on introduction of amendments to regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI, IAA PortNews learnt from the member of the Russian delegation.

According to the revised regulation 13, the approved NECAs (the coast of the USA and Canada as well as the Caribbean Sea area) are applicable to vessels built (or laid down) as of January 1, 2016 or later. 

New NECAs will be applicable to vessels built (laid down) from the date when the amendments to MARPOL Annex VI designating new NECA are approved or from a later date set by MEPC when designating a new emission control area. 

In the context of designation of the Baltic/North Sea as NECA this decision allows to take an adequate decision concerning the date for the requirements to come into force depending on the preparedness of the parties involved (ship owners, coastal states, equipment manufacturers). 

New areas can be designated as NECAs only through introduction of corresponding amendments to MARPOL Annex VI.

Another crucial decision of MEPC is the postponement of the Polar Code approval as well as the approval of amendments to MARPOL to make the Polar Code mandatory. MEPC failed to advance in the dev of the environmental section of the Polar Code amid considerable discordance of opinions on methods and structure of the section. 

The approach approved before and the entire environment section is to be revised. Special team has been established for that purpose. The approval of the Polar Code is postponed till May 2015 which means that it is not to come into effect before 2017. 

However, a number of principal decisions have been made on the Polar Code. First of all, the decision on zero discharge of oily waters from vessels in the Polar area has been confirmed. The environmental section of the Polar Code will be applied to all vessels, both new and old ones, on both internal and international voyages. 

By the next session scheduled for October 2014 MEPC undertakes to elaborate the methods for collection of data on fuel consumption, cargo transportation and distance covered by vessels for further analyses of the quality and structure of vessels’ emissions. The results will be used for adoption of further decisions on reduction of the emissions. The next session will decide if the requirements on providing of those data are to be mandatory or recommendatory.