The sub-committee agreed the draft 2015 Guidelines for the development of the Inventory of Hazardous Materials, for submission to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) for adoption.
Three States (Norway, the Republic of the Congo and France) have ratified, or acceded to the Hong Kong Convention thus far. The treaty will enter into force when at least 15 states become parties, representing at least 40% of world merchant shipping tonnage.
In addition, the combined maximum annual ship recycling volume of the contracting states, over the past 10 years, must be no less than 3% of their combined gt.
The sub-committee also agreed draft amendments to update the 2009 Guidelines for exhaust gas cleaning systems, for submission for adoption by MEPC 68. The revisions update the guidelines with regards to measurement of CO2, SO2 and the pH discharge limit at the overboard monitoring position.
In addition, draft amendments to the NOx Technical Code 2008, concerning revisions for the testing of gas fuelled engines and dual fuel engines for NOx Tier III strategy, were agreed for submission to MEPC 68, with a view to approval and subsequent adoption.
A draft MEPC circular on guidance on the application of regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI Tier III requirements to dual fuel and gas fuelled engines, for submission to MEPC 68 for approval, was agreed in principle.
This guidance aims to assist in the uniform application of regulation 13 of MARPOL Annex VI Tier III requirements to dual fuel and gas fuelled engines, including when these engines are certified to meet both Tier II and Tier III requirements.
Draft amendments to the 2011 Guidelines addressing additional aspects to the NOx Technical Code 2008 with regard to particular requirements related to marine diesel engines fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems, were agreed for submission to MEPC 68, with a view to adoption. The amendments add a new paragraph under the Scheme B test procedure related to the calculation of gaseous emissions.
Also agreed were draft guidelines on international offers of assistance in response to a marine oil pollution incident, for submission to MEPC 68 for approval and publication.
The sub-committee agreed Part III of the IMO Dispersant Guidelines, covering operational and technical information for surface application of dispersants, developed for operational users with a view to providing the required knowledge for efficient dispersant application.
The guidelines will be submitted to MEPC 68, for approval and publication, together with parts I and II of the IMO Dispersant Guidelines, which were previously approved by MEPC 65. A correspondence group was instructed to develop Part IV.