Marpol annex V, Pollution, waste at sea, Steamship Mutual, P&I Home Publications Articles MARPOL Annex V: Amendments from 1 March 2018 MARPOL Annex V: Amendments from 1 March 2018 Publications Steamship Mutual Published: March 01, 2018 Contact author Download article pdf     Image The Club would like to remind Members of the latest amendments to MARPOL Annex V that take effect on 1 March 2018. In brief, these require vessels to implement changes to the way in which onboard garbage is managed as well as with the associated record keeping. Since MARPOL Annex V entered into force on 1 January 2013 there has been a general prohibition of discharging ship’s garbage into the sea. The rules were further strengthened by the inclusion of bulk cargo residues into the definition of garbage if they were considered to be ‘harmful to the marine environment (HME)’, though the rules did not define mandatory criteria to classify cargoes as either HME or non-HME. Further amendments to MARPOL Annex V were adopted in October 2016 at the 70th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 70) and these entered into force on 1 March 2018. These amendments to MARPOL Annex V are contained within IMO Resolution MEPC.277(70): ( http://www.imo.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/IndexofIMOResolutions/Marine-Environment-Protection-Committee-%28MEPC%29/Documents/MEPC.277%2870%29.pdf ) The major changes to MARPOL Annex V can be summarised as: There is a new format for the Garbage Record Book. The record will now be split in Part I and Part II, with Part I being used to record discharges of garbage from all types of vessels and to include a new category of garbage called e-waste. Vessels are to maintain an up to date Garbage Record Book, along with all receipts from shore reception facilities, to be retained on board for a period of two years. The inclusion of specific criteria for classifying solid bulk cargoes as HME, along with a requirement for shippers of all solid bulk cargoes (o