Keeping you advised

In addition to the Rules and Guides for compliance with ABS standards, we strive to keep our clients up to date with local, national, and international regulatory news and developments.

ABS Regulatory Commentary

17 May 2013- MEPC- 65 Brief -

• The following highlights actions taken at IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee’s 65th session which met from 13 to 17 May. A full report of MEPC 65 will be included in the next ABS International Regulatory News Update.”

10 May 2013- - Canada Amends Vessel Pollution & Dangerous Chemicals Regulations -

• Canada has made significant amendments to its regulations to implement the North American Emission Control Area, reduce allowable air pollutants, raise energy efficiency requirements, create a new air emissions regime for Canadian vessels operating in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, establish new standards for managing greywater discharges for smaller marine diesel engines and to improve transfer of oil between tankers at sea.

08 May 2013- - USCG Acceptance of Ballast Water Treatment Alternate Management Systems -

• The latest status of US Coast Guard (USCG) acceptance of foreign type approved ballast water treatment systems as Alternate Management Systems (AMS) is available on the USCG website.

01 May 2013- - Countries Delegating Statutory Authority to ABS-

• This listing details the statutory authority granted to ABS by country and Convention.

18 Apr 2013- - Matrix of Regulations Entering into Force under the Principal IMO Conventions-

• This March 2013 updated matrix identifies and summarizes international regulations to be complied with for the next seven years with the compliance date for new and existing ships according to ship type, size and age.

15 Apr 2013- - USCG Accepts Nine Ballast Water Treatment Alternate Management Systems -

• The US Coast Guard announced acceptance of nine ballast water treatment systems as Alternate Management Systems (AMS) under the final rule for Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in US waters. AMS acceptance is a temporary designation given to a ballast water treatment system approved by a foreign administration which may be used to manage ballast water discharges in lieu of ballast water exchange in US waters, while the treatment system undergoes approval testing to USCG standards. An AMS may be used to meet the USCG’s ballast water treatment requirements for up to five years after the ship's ballast water discharge standard compliance date specified in the final rule.

02 Apr 2013- - US EPA 2013 Vessel General Permit-

• On 28 March, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the 2013 Vessel General Permit (VGP) regulating discharges from commercial vessels, including ballast water, into US waters. The VGP covers commercial vessels greater than 79 feet in length, excluding military and recreational vessels, and will replace the 2008 Vessel General Permit on 19 December 2013. The text of the new VGP, along with additional information pertaining to its requirements is posted on the EPA website. The EPA intends to issue an additional “Small Vessel General Permit” (sVGP) later this year.

01 Apr 2013- - IACS Draft Harmonized Common Structural Rules Released for Industry Review -

• The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) announced the release of the second draft of IACS Harmonized Common Structural Rules (CSR) for Oil Tankers and Bulk Carriers on the IACS website and invited industry to offer comments on all parts of the draft Rules prior to the end of August 2013.

27 Mar 2013- MSC- 91 Update-

• A Regulatory News Update on the IMO Maritime Safety Committee 91st session (MSC 91) held from 26 to 30 November 2012.

06 Mar 2013- - US Coast Guard Regulations: MARPOL Annex V Amendments -

• The US Coast Guard has issued an interim rule implementing recent amendments to MARPOL Annex V, which prohibit the discharge of garbage from ships into the water, unless expressly allowed. The only discharges allowed will be certain food wastes, cargo residues, cleaning agents and additives in wash waters, and animal carcasses. The interim rule comes into effect on 1 April.

04 Mar 2013- - USCG Implementation of MARPOL Annex V: Garbage -

• The US Coast Guard has issued CG-CVC Policy letter 13-01 entitled “Interim Guidance for Revised MARPOL Annex V Implementation.”

20 Feb 2013- - Tokyo MOU on Port State Control: New Inspection Regime from 1 January 2014 -

• The Tokyo MOU issued a press release stating that a New Inspection Regime (NIR), similar to one already in operation in the Paris MOU countries, will enter into force on 1 January 2014. In the NIR, ships will be categorized as high risk ships (HRS), standard risk ships (SRS) or low risk ships (LRS), based on their “ship risk profile.” Different inspection intervals will be applied to the corresponding categories, so that high risk ships will be subject to more frequent inspections while low risk ships will be awarded with a wider time window for inspections.

29 Jan 2013- MEPC- 64 Update-

• A Regulatory News Update on the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee's 64th session, held from 1 to 5 October 2012.

08 Jan 2013- - Frequently Asked Questions on USCG Ballast Water Regulations - Volume II-

• The USCG has posted “Frequently Asked Questions and Answers, Volume II” providing more details on how the USCG will make determinations for Alternate Management Systems and type approval of Ballast Water Management Systems.

02 Jan 2013- - Paris MOU on Port State Control: Harmonized Verification Programme (HAVEP) on Passenger Ships -

• The 27 member States of the Paris MOU will focus their attention on passenger ship safety in 2013. In May 2012 the Paris MOU Port State Control Committee agreed to organize a Harmonized Verification Programme (HAVEP) on operational controls on passenger ships. The HAVEP will last for twelve months, commencing on 1 January 2013 and ending on 31 December 2013.

• Click on the year to view corresponding Regulatory News