Hong Kong Regulations

MERCHANT SHIPPING (PREVENTION OF OIL POLLUTION) REGULATIONS - REGULATION 10

Oil Record Book

(1) Every ship to which these Regulations apply of 400 GRT and above, other
than an oil tanker, and every oil tanker of 150 GRT and above shall be
provided with an Oil Record Book Part I (Machinery Space Operations). Every
oil tanker of 150 GRT and above shall also be provided with an oil Record Book
Part II (Cargo/Ballast Operations). The oil Record Book, whether it forms Part
of the ship's official log book or engine room log book or otherwise, shall be
in the form set out in Schedule 2, hereto.

(2) The Oil Record Book shall be completed on each occasion, on a tank-to-tank
basis if appropriate, whenever any of the following operations take place in
the ship-

   (a)  for machinery space operations (all ships)-

        (i)    ballasting or cleaning of oil fuel tanks;

        (ii)   discharge of ballast or cleaning water from oil fuel tanks
               which have been ballasted or cleaned;

        (iii)  disposal of oily residues (sludge);

        (iv)   discharge overboard of bilge water which has accumulated in
               machinery spaces;

   (b)  for cargo/ballast operation (oil tankers)-

        (i)    loading of oil cargo;

        (ii)   internal transfer of oil cargo during voyage;

        (iii)  unloading of oil cargo;

        (iv)   ballasting of cargo tanks and dedicated clean ballast tanks;

        (v)    cleaning of cargo tanks including crude oil washing;

        (vi)   discharge of ballast except from segregated ballast tanks;

        (vii)  discharge of water from slop tanks;

        (viii) closing of all applicable valves or similar devices after
               slop tank discharge operations;

        (ix)   closing of valves necessary for the isolation of dedicated
               clean ballast tanks from cargo and stripping lines after
               slop tank discharge operations;

        (x)    disposal of residues.

(3) In the event of such discharge of oil or oily mixture as is referred to in
regulation 11 or in the event of an accidental or other exceptional discharge
of oil not excepted by that regulation, a statement shall be made in the Oil
Record Book of the circumstances of, and the reasons for, the discharge.

(4) Each operation described in paragraph (2) of this regulation shall be
fully recorded without delay in the Oil Record Book so that all entries in the
book appropriate to that operation are completed. Each completed operation
shall be signed by the officer or officers in charge of the operations
concerned and each completed page shall be signed by the master.

(5) The Oil Record Book shall be kept in such a place as to be readily
available for inspection at all reasonable times and, except in the case of
unmanned ships under tow, shall be kept on board. It shall be preserved for a
period of three years after the last entry has been made.

(6) A person authorized by the Certifying Authority may inspect the Oil Record
Book on board any ship whilst the ship is in a port or off shore terminal and
may make a copy of any entry in that book and may require the master of the
ship to certify that the copy is a true copy of such entry. Any copy so made
which has been certified by the master of the ship as a true copy of an entry
in the ship's Oil Record Book shall be admissible in any judicial proceedings
as evidence of the facts stated in the entry. The inspection of an Oil Record
Book and the taking of a certified copy by the competent authority, or an
authorized person, under this paragraph shall be performed as expeditiously as
possible without causing the ship to be unduly delayed.