Incinerator use in Port Limits, anchorages, and ECA (within 12 N-miles of baseline) is prohibited. However, in circumstances due to vessel’s trade pattern & operational requirements whereby garbage and/or sludge has accumulated and could not be landed due to port restrictions and/or any other reason, use of incinerator can be permitted subject to compliance to all of the following:

• 1. Approval from Port state and Office is mandatory and to be taken for Incinerator use for burning sludge or garbage in Port Limits, anchorages, and ECA areas (within 12 N-miles of baseline).
• 2. No Incinerator operation alongside terminals/Ports.
• 3. Incineration is prohibited in the entire Baltic Sea Area.
• 4. Operation of incinerators within ECA must be agreed with individual port States and affected coastal States in all cases. According to MEPC.219 (63) - Incineration of the vessel’s sludge in ECA areas also depends on domestic regulations and states that “in general shipboard incineration should not be undertaken when the ship is in port or at offshore terminal. Some ports may have domestic laws that specify additional air emission restrictions, particularly those near high population areas. The use of a shipboard incinerator may require permission from the port authority concerned.”
• 5. Upon approval from port state for garbage and/or sludge, Incinerator operation must be done only with compliant fuel (0.1% S or 0.5% S) as applicable for that port.
• 6. Such Approval as mentioned in point 1, will be valid only for that anchorage. Next port will require fresh approval each time prior to such incineration operation.
• 7. Safe Incineration procedure (Ref Poster 43), GMP Plan.

As mentioned in point 4 above, it should be noted that individual Regional Governments may have their own specific requirements. Examples of such prohibitions are:

• a) The Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992, which requires contracting parties to prohibit any incineration of ship-generated wastes on board ships operating in their territorial seas.
• b) California Environmental Protection Agency prohibits on-board incineration between the California coast and the Three Nautical Mile Line as shown on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Nautical Charts.

As per Regulation 16 of MARPOL Annex VI, - Shipboard incineration is prohibited for all the below-mentioned items:

• Please print this info and display near incinerator operation panel in a plastic folder.
• Vessel to ensure advance planning of sludge and garbage control on-board prior arrival port and in anticipation of extended anchorages.
• Correct recordkeeping in ORB, GRB, and logs as appropriate.
• Address any query pertaining to regulations and compliance to: TO: HSSEQ
  CC: Vessel manager of your vessel.