The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008

Sulphur oxides

22.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the sulphur content of any fuel oil used on board a ship must not exceed 4.5 per cent by mass.

(2) A ship within a sulphur oxide emission control area must comply with at least one of the following conditions—

(a)the sulphur content of any fuel oil used on board the ship must not exceed 1.5 per cent by mass;

(b)an approved exhaust gas cleaning system is applied to reduce the total emission of sulphur oxide, from both auxiliary and main propulsion engines, to 6.0g/kW h or less calculated as the total weight of sulphur dioxide emission;

(c)any other technological method to limit sulphur oxide emissions is used that has been approved for the purposes of these Regulations by the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of a Merchant Shipping Notice.

(3) The master of any ship using separate fuel oils to comply with paragraph (2)(a) must—

(a)allow sufficient time for the fuel oil service system to be fully flushed of all fuels containing sulphur exceeding 1.5 per cent by mass prior to entry into a sulphur oxide emission control area; and

(b)record the date, time and position of the ship when any fuel changeover operation is completed and the volume in each tank at that time of the fuel oils having a sulphur content of 1.5 per cent or less by mass.

(4) The master must ensure that waste streams from the use of equipment approved pursuant to paragraph (2)(b) are not discharged into a port, harbour or estuary unless it is thoroughly documented that those waste streams will have no adverse impact on the ecosystem of the port, harbour or estuary.

(5) The master of a United Kingdom ship making a record pursuant to paragraph (3)(b) must make it in a log book in the format prescribed in Appendix 6 to Merchant Shipping Notice 1819 (M+F).

(6) In this regulation “approved exhaust gas cleaning system” means an exhaust gas cleaning system approved in accordance with Merchant Shipping Notice 1734 (M+F) or Merchant Shipping Notice 1735 (M+F) as appropriate.