Discharges of sewage or litter from commercial or recreational vessels
Discharges potentially take place throughout the coastal waters of Berwickshire and Northumberland. Ballast exchange takes place at Berwick Harbour.
As required
Organisation | Description of power or responsibility |
Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) |
|
Marine Scotland |
|
Marine Management Organisation |
|
A number of legal powers, duties or regulatory tools exist which are relevant to this activity and its management. These are summarised in the table below:
Legislation | Legal Powers or Duties | Lead Organisation |
The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008 | Requirement for ships above a certain size to have a garbage management plan and sewage treatment facilities | MCA |
The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008 | Prohibition on disposal of plastic garbage from vessels at sea | MCA |
Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (Section 71) | Requirement for anyone making deposits at sea to obtain a Marine Licence | Marine Management Organisation |
The following guidance, codes, plans or strategies are also relevant to the management of this activity:
Name | Description | Responsible Organisation | Statutory or Non-Statutory? |
Marine Guidance Note 385 (M+F) | Guidance on the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008 | MCA | Non-Statutory |
Marine Guidance Note 280 (M) | Small Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure, Workboats and Pilot Boats – Alternative Construction Standards | MCA | Non-Statutory |
Marine Guidance Note 363 (M+F) | The Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments | MCA | Non-Statutory |
A number of legal powers, duties or regulatory tools exist which are relevant to this activity and its management. These are summarised in the table below:
Legislation | Legal Powers or Duties | Lead Organisation |
The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008 | Requirement for ships above a certain size to have a garbage management plan and sewage treatment facilities | MCA |
The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008 | Prohibition on disposal of plastic garbage from vessels at sea | MCA |
Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (Section 20) | Requirement for anyone making deposits at sea to obtain a Marine Licence | Marine Scotland |
The following guidance, codes, plans or strategies are also relevant to the management of this activity:
Name | Description | Responsible Organisation | Statutory or Non-Statutory? |
Marine Guidance Note 385 (M+F) | Guidance on the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008 | MCA | Non-Statutory |
Marine Guidance Note 280 (M) | Small Vessels in Commercial Use for Sport or Pleasure, Workboats and Pilot Boats – Alternative Construction Standards | MCA | Non-Statutory |
Marine Guidance Note 363 (M+F) | The Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments | MCA | Non-Statutory |
The management framework for discharges at sea derives largely from international treaty obligations on the prevention of marine pollution. Further details are provided below:
General waste and discharges:
Most international regulations on marine pollution come from the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which was updated in 1978. MARPOL was developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and is aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships.
The disposal of garbage and sewage from ships is a major environmental issue which is addressed in Annexes IV and V of MARPOL. Within the UK, Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage) Regulations 1998 were developed to address this and were updated in 2008 to reflect changes made to the system internationally. These can be downloaded at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-385-prevention-of-pollution-by-sewage-and-garbage-from-ships-regulations-2008
Annex 5 of MARPOL prohibits the at-sea disposal of plastic waste from ships.
In addition, under these Regulations:
The Regulations also specify that vessels covered by the regulations must have at least one of the following:
Other ships can opt into the provisions of the regulations and for smaller vessels guidance is provided by the Small Commercial Vessel and Pilot Boat Code of Practice. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-280-small-vessels-in-commercial-use-for-sport
Under the MARPOL Convention, the North Sea is a designated Special Area, in which, the adoption of special mandatory methods for the prevention of sea pollution is required. Under the Convention, Special Areas are provided with a higher level of protection than other areas of the sea. The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) enforces the requirements of the Convention in UK waters and respond to spill incidents. Discharge of waste from vessels are regulated through a vessel certification system that is issued and enforced by the MCA. The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Marine Scotland (MS) licenses deposits at sea and dumping of waste.
Ballast Water Management:
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has developed a Convention aimed at preventing these harmful effects, adopting the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (the Ballast Water Management Convention) in 2004. This convention provides a structure to address the issues of ballast water and provides two performance standards for the discharge of ballast water – D1 and D2.
The D1 standard is for ballast water exchange, and specifies the volume of water to be replaced.
The D2 standard covers approved ballast water treatment systems, and specifies levels of viable organisms left in water after treatment.
Guidelines associated with the Ballast Water Management Convention 2004 include:
At present, the guidelines are not legally required, but shipping agents and ship owners are strongly urged to ensure that vessels discharging ballast in United Kingdom waters comply with them to reduce the spread of disease and non-indigenous nuisance species that may be in the water.
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-363-the-control-and-management-of-ships-ballast-water
The management framework for discharges at sea derives largely from international treaty obligations on the prevention of marine pollution. Further details are provided below:
General waste and discharges:
Most international regulations on marine pollution come from the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which was updated in 1978. MARPOL was developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and is aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships.
The disposal of garbage and sewage from ships is a major environmental issue which is addressed in Annexes IV and V of MARPOL. Within the UK, Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage) Regulations 1998 were developed to address this and were updated in 2008 to reflect changes made to the system internationally. These can be downloaded at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-385-prevention-of-pollution-by-sewage-and-garbage-from-ships-regulations-2008
Under these Regulations:
The Regulations also specify that vessels covered by the regulations must have at least one of the following:
Other ships can opt into the provisions of the regulations and for smaller vessels guidance is provided by the Small Commercial Vessel and Pilot Boat Code of Practice. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-280-small-vessels-in-commercial-use-for-sport
Under the MARPOL Convention, the North Sea is a designated Special Area, in which, the adoption of special mandatory methods for the prevention of sea pollution is required. Under the Convention, Special Areas are provided with a higher level of protection than other areas of the sea. The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) enforce the requirements of the Convention in UK waters and respond to spill incidents. Discharge of waste from vessels are regulated through a vessel certification system that is issued and enforced by the MCA. The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and Marine Scotland (MS) licenses deposits at sea and dumping of waste.
Ballast Water Management:
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has developed a Convention aimed at preventing these harmful effects, adopting the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (the Ballast Water Management Convention) in 2004. This convention provides a structure to address the issues of ballast water and provides two performance standards for the discharge of ballast water – D1 and D2.
The D1 standard is for ballast water exchange, and specifies the volume of water to be replaced.
The D2 standard covers approved ballast water treatment systems, and specifies levels of viable organisms left in water after treatment.
Guidelines associated with the Ballast Water Management Convention 2004 include:
At present, the guidelines are not legally required, but shipping agents and ship owners are strongly urged to ensure that vessels discharging ballast in United Kingdom waters comply with them to reduce the spread of disease and non-indigenous nuisance species that may be in the water.
Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mgn-363-the-control-and-management-of-ships-ballast-water
Ballast water guidelines are only voluntary at present
Ballast water guidelines are only voluntary at present