Draft Report 62/WP.1

IMO published this document July 15, 2011 providing the summary for the sixty-second session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 62). The document covers Harmful Aquatic Organisms in Ballast Water (7 system receiving Basic Approval, 2 systems receiving Final Approval, and other matters covered by the GESAMP-BWWG), Recycling of Ships, Interpretation of and Amendments to MARPOL and Related Instruments, Implementation of the OPRC Convention and the OPRC-HNS Protocol and Relevant Conference Resolutions, etc.

What I found interesting is contained in "Matters Related to MARPOL Annex I" under para 7.18 noting that THE MOST SIGNIFICANT REVISION OF REGULATION 12 OF MARPOL ANNEX I AND THE ASSOCIATED UNIFIED INTERPRETATIONS WAS THAT IT NO LONGER CONTAINS THE PROVISION TO ALLOW FOR AN INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN THE SLUDGE TANK DISCHARGE PIPING AND BILGE-WATER PIPING...

I emphasize the comment because, in our experience, nothing good comes from a connection between sludge and bilge-water. De-canting sludge to bilge-water makes bilge-water treatment unnecessarily difficult and expensive because the sludge components transferred must be removed in adsorption media or cartridges.

Whereas the above provision applies only to ships delivered after 2014, I'd recommend considering this recommendation on existing ships, as a safe guard as well as part of an IBTS.