Manalaysay, Jan Dominique

II-ABSMarE-A

TOPICS:

Overview of Anti-Pollution Equipment, Sewage Plant, Incinerator,

Comminutor, Ballast Water Treatment Plan

Over the years, IMO has adopted a series of resolutions on pollution prevention
equipment standards and test specifications which have been kept continuously under
review following the experience obtained on their performance and taking into account
the advancement in technology. Consequently, many of the early resolutions adopted in
the 1970s and 1980s became obsolete and have now been replaced.
The present publication is a revised and updated version of the 1997 edition and
contains those live resolutions on pollution prevention equipment which are currently
applicable to new installations on boards ships, except where expressly provided
otherwise. These resolutions are:
Revised Guidelines and Specifications for Pollution Prevention Equipment for
Machinery Space Bilges on Ships;
Revised Guidelines and Specifications for Oil Discharge Monitoring and Control
Systems for Oil Tankers;
Specification for Oil/Water Interface Detectors;
Revised Guidelines on Implementation of Effluent Standards and Performance
Tests for Sewage Treatment Plants;
Standard Specification for Shipboard Incinerators; and
Guidelines On-board Gas-SOx Cleaning Systems.

Sewage Treatment Plan

STAGE ONE: SCREENING

Screening is the first stage of the wastewater treatment process. Screening removes large
objects like, diapers, nappies, sanitary items, cotton buds, face wipes and even broken
bottles, bottle tops, plastics and rags that may block or damage equipment.
Special equipment is also used to remove grit that gets washed into the sewer.

STAGE TWO: PRIMARY TREATMENT

This involves the separation of organic solid matter (or human waste) from the
wastewater. This is done by putting the wastewater into large settlement tanks for the
solids to sink to the bottom of the tank. The settled solids are called sludge. At the
bottom of these circular tanks, large scrappers continuously scrape the floor of the tank
and push the sludge towards the center where it is pumped away for further treatment.
The rest of the water is then moved to the Secondary treatment.

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STAGE THREE: SECONDARY TREATMENT
The water, at this stage, is put into large rectangular tanks. These are called aeration
lanes. Air is pumped into the water to encourage bacteria to break down the tiny bits of
sludge that escaped the sludge scrapping process.

STAGE FOUR: FINAL TREATMENT

Next, the almost treated wastewater is passed through a settlement tank. Here, more
sludge is formed at the bottom of the tank from the settling of the bacterial action. Again,
the sludge is scraped and collected for treatment. The water at this stage is almost free
from harmful substances and chemicals. The water is allowed to flow over a wall where
it is filtered through a bed of sand to remove any additional particles.

Procedure for ships waste via Marine incinerator

Shipboard generated wastes can only be disposed of legally by the following

two methods
1. Disposal by onboard Incineration
2. Disposal to a shore based facility

The availability and cost of disposal to shore based facilities and the trading
constraints such as time in port, access at tanker terminals and other restrictions have
made option b less attractive.

Oil and sewage sludge incineration may take place in main or auxiliary power plants
or boilers, but not whilst in ports or enclosed water.

Waste incineration onboard sea going ships is regulated by IMO MARPOL 73/78
Resolution MEPC.176(40), adopted 10 October 2008 and IMO MARPOL Annex VI, Chapter
III Regulation 16 and Appendix IV Requirements for Control of Emissions from Ships
Shipboard Incineration. All new Incinerators installed onboard a ship on or after 1st
January 2000 require compliance with the above regulations and shall have IMO Type
Approved Certificate.

It is prohibited to incinerate:
Residues of cargoes subject MARPOL Annex I, II, III
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
Garbage containing heavy metals, defined in Annex V
Refined petroleum products containing halogens
Sewage sludge and sludge oil either of which are not generated onboard the ship
Exhaust gas cleaning system residues.

Polyvinyl chlorides (PVCs) can only be incinerated in IMO type approved incinerators.
In accordance with the Helsinki Convention, all ships are prohibited to use their

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incinerators whilst in the Baltic Sea area. See Attached Clean Seas Guide Baltic States
for an overview of the regulations governing this area.

The following conditions must also be met:

Personnel responsible for operation of any incinerator shall be trained.
Manufacturers manual for the incinerator shall be available onboard.
Minimum flue gas temperature is 850 degrees Centigrade.
The unit shall reach 600 degrees Centigrade within 5 minutes after start up.
Monitoring of flue gas outlet temperature required.

Incinerators without IMO type approval Certificate or installed before 1st January 2000
can still be used for burning SLUDGE OIL and solid waste provided this does not contain
any plastic or synthetic materials. In addition to the above, the following criteria must be
established.
Quantify and designate Sludge preparation tanks for ships using heavy fuels: 2%
of daily consumption.
Quantify Incinerator use: 1% of the bunker consumption plus 2-3 hours for solid
waste incineration.
Owners must decide on the number of hours per day that the Incinerator should
be allowed to work. Generally 8-12 hours per day.
Consideration should be made for ships trading in ECA areas (e.g. Baltic Sea)
where incineration is not allowed. Put up suitable notices.
Please confirm that your vessel has a manual for the Incinerator.
The Operator must be trained in the use of the Incinerator by the Chief Engineer
and records of this training must be maintained.

Comminutor

The comminutor is an automatic mechanical device used to shred sewage solids

prior to treatment. Three standard sizes are used to cover ranges of flow up to 1,020
GPM. The Model A-5 has a 5" cutter drum for flows up to 164 GPM, the Model A-8 has
an 8" cutter drum for flows up to 360 GPM, and the A-12 has a 12" cutter drum for flows
up to 1,020 GPM. The models differ only in motor size, cutter diameter and ratio of speed
reduction. They may be installed in a flow chamber, flanged pipe line, treatment plant
bar screen or the wet well of a lift station. Shaft extensions are also available to meet
specific needs.

OPERATION OF COMMINUTOR

Raw sewage enters the comminutor thru the open top inlet trough, flows into the
comminutor housing and then passes through the 1/4" slots in the rotating drum. Any
sewage solids too large to pass thru the slots are caught up by the projecting teeth on
the rotating drum and carried to the fixed cutter comb where the intermeshing of the
projecting teeth with the slotted comb cut, shear and shred the solids until they are small

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enough to be carried thru the slots in the rotating drum by the sewage flow. page 2
Should an exceptionally hard or tough object be encountered, jamming the cutting teeth,
the automatic control system reverses the rotation of the drum approximately one
revolution. After a momentary pause, forward direction of rotation is resumed. This
operation is continued until the jamming object is reduced to small enough size to pass
thru the rotating drum. Normal forward rotation is then continued. In the event of a
power outage, the comminutor will resume forward rotation as soon as power is restored.
In the event of a prolonged power outage in which case sewage solids may cause clogging
of the slots in the normally rotating drum, the sewage can bypass the comminutor by
overflowing the top inlet trough.

Ballast Water Management Plan

Since the introduction of steel-hulled vessels around 120 years ago, water has
been used as ballast to stabilize vessels at sea. Ballast water is pumped in to maintain
safe operating conditions throughout a voyage. This practice reduces stress on the hull,
provides transverse stability, improves propulsion and manoeuvrability, and compensates
for weight changes in various cargo load levels and due to fuel and water consumption.
While ballast water is essential for safe and efficient modern shipping operations,
it may pose serious ecological, economic and health problems due to the multitude of
marine species carried in ships ballast water. These include bacteria, microbes, small
invertebrates, eggs, cysts and larvae of various species. The transferred species may
survive to establish a reproductive population in the host environment, becoming
invasive, out-competing native species and multiplying into pest proportions.
Scientists first recognized the signs of an alien species introduction after a mass
occurrence of the Asian phytoplankton algae Odontella (Biddulphia sinensis) in the North
Sea in 1903. But it was not until the 1970s that the scientific community began reviewing
the problem in detail. In the late 1980s, Canada and Australia were among countries
experiencing particular problems with invasive species, and they brought their concerns
to the attention of IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).
The problem of invasive species in ships ballast water is largely due to the expanded
trade and traffic volume over the last few decades and, since the volumes of seaborne
trade continue to increase, the problem may not yet have reached its peak yet. The
effects in many areas of the world have been devastating. Quantitative data show that
the rate of bio-invasions is continuing to increase at an alarming rate and new areas are
being invaded all the time.

The spread of invasive species is now recognized as one of the greatest threats to
the ecological and the economic well being of the planet. These species are causing
enormous damage to biodiversity and the valuable natural riches of the earth upon which
we depend. Direct and indirect health effects are becoming increasingly serious and the
damage to the environment is often irreversible.

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 For some examples of aquatic bio-invasions causing major impact It should be
noted, however, that there are hundreds of other serious invasions which have been or
are in the process of being recorded around the world.

Global response

Preventing the transfer of invasive species and coordinating a timely and effective
response to invasions will require cooperation and collaboration among governments,
economic sectors, non-governmental organizations and international treaty
organizations; the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Article 196) provides the global
framework by requiring States to work together to prevent, reduce and control pollution
of the marine environment including the intentional or accidental introduction of species,
alien or new, to a particular part of the marine environment, which may cause significant
and harmful changes thereto.
IMO has been at the front of the international effort by taking the lead in
addressing the transfer of invasive aquatic species (IAS) through shipping. In 1991 the
MEPC adopted the International Guidelines for preventing the introduction of unwanted
aquatic organisms and pathogens from ships' ballast water and sediment discharges
(resolution MEPC.50(31)); while the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, recognized the issue as a major
international concern.

Garbage Management Plan

The Garbage Management Plan is a complete guideline which comprises of a

written procedure for collecting, storing, processing, and disposing of garbage generated
onboard ship as per regulations provided in Annex V of MARPOL.
Training must be given to ships staff for proper garbage disposal onboard ship and for
knowledge on garbage disposal regulations at sea and in special areas.
A GMP is mandatory for all ships above 400GT and on ships certified to carry 15
persons or more and it is written in the working language of the crew as per the guidelines
developed by the organisation.
GMP to be retained onboard as a record for a period of two years from the date of last
entry.
A Responsible officer is to be in charge for maintaining garbage management plan
on ship. Normally chief officer is responsible along with 2nd engineer (engine department).

An approved garbage management plan must consist of the following-

Ships details.
Overview of Annex V of MARPOL.
List of equipments for handling garbage on ship.
Placards to be posted for disposal criteria.
Possible local recycling arrangements.
Written procedures for Collecting Garbage.

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 Garbage segregation description to avoid intermixing of garbage which includes
Identification of suitable receptacles for collection & separation.
Garbage processing methods available on the ship.
Garbage storing methods and garbage station.
Garbage disposal methods.
Entry to be made in garbage record book.
Emergency and accidental discharge criteria.
Needs of the reception facilities.
Identify the available operating & maintenance procedures of collecting equipment
on board.
Describe the training or education programs to facilitate the processing of garbage.
Identify the location of each collection point.

Garbage Record Book

In accordance with regulation 9 of Annex V of the International Convention for the

Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL
73/78), a record is to be kept of each discharge operation or completed incineration. This
includes discharges at sea, to reception facilities, or to other ships.

Entries in the Garbage Record Book

4.1 Entries in the Garbage Record Book shall be made on each of the following occasions:

(a) When garbage is discharged into the sea:

(i) Date and time of discharge
(ii) Position of the ship (latitude and longitude). Note: for cargo residue
discharges, include discharge start and stop positions.
(iii) Category of garbage discharged
(iv) Estimated amount discharged for each category in cubic metres
(v) Signature of the officer in charge of the operation.
(b) When garbage is discharged to reception facilities ashore or to other ships:
(i) Date and time of discharge
(ii) Port or facility, or name of ship
(iii) Category of garbage discharged
(iv) Estimated amount discharged for each category in cubic metres
(v) Signature of officer in charge of the operation.
(c) When garbage is incinerated:

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 (i) Date and time of start and stop of incineration
(ii) Position of the ship (latitude and longitude)
(iii) Estimated amount incinerated in cubic metres
(iv) Signature of the officer in charge of the operation.
(d) Accidental or other exceptional discharges of garbage
(i) Time of occurrence
(ii) Port or position of the ship at time of occurrence
(iii) Estimated amount and category of garbage
(iv) Circumstances of disposal, escape or loss, the reason therefor and
general remarks.

4.2 Receipts

The master should obtain from the operator of port reception facilities, or from the master
of the ship receiving the garbage, a receipt or certificate specifying the estimated amount
of garbage transferred. The receipts or certificates must be kept on board the ship with
the Garbage Record Book for two years.

4.3 Amount of garbage

The amount of garbage on board should be estimated in cubic metres, if possible

separately according to category. The Garbage Record Book contains many references to
estimated amount of garbage. It is recognized that the accuracy of estimating amounts
of garbage is left to interpretation. Volume estimates will differ before and after
processing. Some processing procedures may not allow for a usable estimate of volume,
e.g. the continuous processing of food waste. Such factors should be taken into
consideration when making and interpreting entries made in a record.