Hong Kong Regulations

MERCHANT SHIPPING (PREVENTION OF OIL POLLUTION) REGULATIONS - REGULATION 15

Retention of oil on board

(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (5) and (6) of this regulation,
oil tankers of 150 GRT and above to which these Regulations apply shall be
provided with arrangements in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs
(2) and (3) of this regulation: provided that in the case of existing ships
the requirements for oil discharge monitoring and control systems and
slop tank arrangements shall not apply until 2 October 1986.

(2) (a) Adequate means shall be provided for cleaning the cargo tanks and
transferring the dirty ballast residues and tank washings from the cargo tanks
into a slop tank of a type approved by a Certifying  Authority. In existing
oil tankers, any cargo tank may be designated as a slop tank.

   (b)  Arrangements shall be provided to transfer the oily waste into a
        slop tank or combination of slop tanks in such a way that any effluent
        discharges into the sea will be such as to comply with regulation 13.

   (c)  The slop tank or combination of slop tanks provided pursuant to
        sub-paragraph (b) above shall have sufficient capacity to retain the
        slops generated by tank washings, oil residues and dirty ballast
        residues; and that capacity shall be not less than 3 per cent of the
        cargo oil carrying capacity of the ship unless-

        (i)    segregated ballast tanks or dedicated clean ballast tanks are
               provided in accordance with regulation 18, or a cargo tank
               cleaning system using crude oil washing, in accordance with
               regulation 21, in either of which events the total capacity of
               the slop tank or tanks may be reduced to 2 per cent of the oil
               carrying capacity of the ship;

        (ii)   in the case of combination carriers, the oil cargo is carried
               in tanks with smooth walls, when the said total capacity may be
               reduced to 1 per cent of the oil carrying capacity of the ship:
               Provided that, where the tank washing arrangements are such
               that, once the slop tank or tanks are charged with washing
               water, this water is sufficient for the tank washing and, where
               applicable, for providing the driving fluid for the pumps
               (including eductors) without the introduction of additional
               water into the system, the above figures of 3 per cent, 2 per
               cent and 1 per cent may be reduced to 2 per cent, 1.5 per cent
               and 0.8 per cent respectively.

   (d)  Slop tanks shall be so designed, particularly as regards the position
        of inlets, outlets, baffles or weirs (where fitted), as to avoid
        excessive turbulence and entrainment of oil or emulsion with water.

   (e)  New oil tankers of 70000 tons deadweight and above shall be provided
        with at least two slop tanks.

(3) (a) An oil discharge monitoring and control system of an approved design
shall be fitted. It shall be designed and installed in compliance with the
guidelines and specifications set out in Schedule 4 hereto.

   (b)  Any such system shall be fitted with a recording device to provide,
        unless otherwise required by Schedule 4, a continuous record of the
        discharge of oil in litres per mile and the total quantity of oil
        discharged or, in lieu of the total quantity of oil discharged, the
        oil content and rate of discharge of the effluent. The record shall be
        identifiable as to the time and date and shall be kept for at least
        three years.

   (c)  The system shall be brought into operation when there is a discharge
        of effluent into the sea and shall be such as to ensure that any
        discharge of oily mixture is, unless otherwise permitted by Schedule
        4, automatically stopped when the instantaneous rate of discharge of
        oil exceeds 30 litres per mile. (L.N. 641 of 1994)

   (d)  On any failure of the system the discharge shall be stopped and the
        failure shall be noted in the Oil Record Book. A manually operated
        alternative system shall be provided and may be used in the event of
        such a failure, but the defective unit shall be made operable as soon
        as possible and the tanker may be allowed to undertake one ballast
        voyage before proceeding to a repair port. (L.N. 641 of 1994)

   (e)  Effective oil/water interface detectors, of a design approved as being
        in accordance with the specifications set out in Schedule 5 hereto,
        shall be provided for the rapid and accurate determination of the
        oil/water interface in slop tanks and shall be available for use in
        other tanks where the separation of oil and water is effected and from
        which it is intended to discharge effluent direct to the sea.

   (f)  Approved instruction manuals on the operation and maintenance of the
        various items comprising the oil discharge monitoring and control
        system shall be provided. These manuals shall contain information on
        manual as well as automatic operations and shall be so drawn up as to
        ensure that at no time shall oil be discharged except in compliance
        with the conditions specified in regulation 13.

(4) The discharge of oil from oil tankers of less than 150 GRT pursuant to
regulation 13 shall be effected by the retention of the oil on board until
subsequent discharge of all contaminated washings to reception facilities. The
total quantity of oil and water used for washing and returned to a storage or
slop tank shall be recorded in the Oil Record Book. This total quantity shall
be discharge to reception facilities unless adequate arrangements are made to
ensure that any effluent which is allowed to be discharged into the sea is
effectively monitored to ensure that the provisions of regulation 13 are
complied with.

(5) (a) Paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) shall not apply to an oil tanker engaged
exclusively in trade within the waters of Hong Kong, if-

        (i)    all oily mixtures are retained on board for subsequent
               discharge to reception facilities; and

        (ii)   the Director is satisfied that adequate facilities are
               available at the place of discharge to receive such
               oily mixtures.

   (b)  Paragraph (3) shall not apply-

        (i)    to an existing oil tanker as defined in regulation 17(2) of
               40000 deadweight tons or above which is engaged in specific
               trades and the conditions specified in regulation 22(2) are
               complied with; or

        (ii)   subject to sub-paragraph (c), to an oil tanker engaged
               exclusively- (A) on voyages within the special areas; (B) on
               voyages within the waters of Hong Kong.

   (c)  The exemption in sub-paragraph (b)(ii) shall only apply if-

        (i)    all oily mixtures are retained on board for subsequent
               discharge to reception facilities;

        (ii)   the Director is satisfied that where the oil tanker is engaged
               exclusively on voyages specified in sub-paragraph (b)(ii)
               adequate reception facilities are available to receive such
               oily mixtures in those oil loading ports or terminals at which
               the tanker calls;

        (iii)  the IOPP or HKOPP Certificate issued in respect of the tanker
               is endorsed to the effect that the tanker is exclusively
               engaged on voyages of a type specified in sub-paragraph
               (b)(ii); and

        (iv)   the quantity, time and port of the discharge are recorded in
               the Oil Record Book. (L.N. 177 of 1991)

(6) Paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of this regulation shall not apply to
oil tankers carrying asphalt or other products subject to the provisions of
these Regulations which, through their physical properties, inhibit effective
product/water separation and monitoring: in such cases the control of
discharge under regulation 13 shall be effected by the retention of residues
on board and the discharge of all contaminated washings to reception
facilities.