Waste – Offshore Incineration | OEUK Environmental Legislation

Waste – Offshore Incineration

For information on the impact of Brexit on oil and gas environmental legislation, please refer to the pdf document downloadable from the Home Page.

Key Legislation:

Directive 2018/851/EU amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) 1973 Annex V, as amended
MARPOL 73/78 Annex VI
The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 as amended
The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008

For more detail on the Legislation relevant to this page, please use the following links:

Main UK Legislation
Atmospherics Legislation
Chemicals Legislation
Pollution Prevention and Discharge Legislation
Waste Legislation

Supporting Legislation:

Convention on the Protection of the Marine En vironment of the North East Atlantic 1992 (OSPAR Convention) –
Protocol to the 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972, as amended in 2006
Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA)
Deposits in the Sea (Exemptions) Order 1985

Guidelines:

Guidance for the incineration of waste and fuel manufactured from or including waste. This document provides guidance on the preparation of application for Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) permits
Incineration of any substance or object: This guidance was produced by the Marine Management Organisation and outlines when a marine licence is required for the incineration of waste or objects in English and Northern Irish offshore water.
MGN 381 (M+F) Survey and Certification Requirements for the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 (PDF document)
MSN 1874 (M+F) Amendment 7 (PDF document)
MSN 1819 (M+F) The Merchant Shipping Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 (PDF document)
MIN 395 – Revised Annex VI of MARPOL: Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships (PDF document)

Shipboard Incinerator Approval:	Shipboard incinerators installed after 31 December 1999 or if solely in UK waters on or before 18 May 2005 must be approved in accordance with Merchant Shipping Notice 1734 (M+F) and an Approved Type Certificate issued.
Who to Apply to:	MCA.
When to Apply:	Prior to installation of incinerator.

Plastic products:

Disposal into the sea of incinerator ashes from plastic products is prohibited as they may contain toxic or heavy metal residues.

Incinerator operators:

A ship with a shipboard incinerator installed on it must at all times carry an operating manual of the manufacturer of that incinerator, which specifies how to operate the incinerator within the limits described in Schedule 5 to Merchant Shipping Notice 1819 (M+F).Every person responsible for the operation of a shipboard incinerator must be trained and capable of implementing the guidance provided in the manufacturer’s operating manual.Combustion flue gas outlet temperatures must be monitored at all times and the waste must not be fed into a continuous-feed shipboard incinerator when the temperature is below 850°C.

No batch-loaded shipboard incinerator is to be used if the temperature in the combustion chamber fails to reach 600°C within 5 minutes of start-up.

Limits on What may be Incinerated:

Regulation 16 of Annex VI prohibits the incineration of:

MARPOL 73/78 Annex I, II and III cargo residues, including related contaminated packaging
PCBs
Garbage containing more than traces of heavy metals
Refined petroleum products containing halogen compounds
PVCs (except in approved incinerators)

The incineration of sewage sludge and sludge oil generated during normal shipboard operations is permitted outside harbour areas.

Monitoring Requirements:

The combustion flue gas outlet temperature must be monitored at all times.

Relevant convictions

Guidance on Relevant convictions for waste environmental permits

Non-compliance:

N/A

Renewal of Permit:

N/A

None at present.