S.I. No. 432/2025 - Sea Pollution (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 23rd September, 2025.

I, SEÁN CANNEY, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 10 , 12 , 14 , 15 and 17 of the Sea Pollution Act 1991 (No. 27 of 1991) and the Maritime Transport, Safety and Security (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2005 ( S.I. No. 842 of 2005 ) (as adapted by the Transport, Tourism and Sport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2020 ( S.I. No. 351 of 2020 )) and the Transport (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2025 ( S.I. No. 144 of 2025 ) and for the purpose of giving further effect to Annex V to the MARPOL Convention by Resolution MEPC.277(70) adopted 28 October 2016, Resolution MEPC.314(74) adopted on 17 May 2019 and Resolution MEPC.360(79) adopted 16 December 2022 by the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the International Maritime Organization, hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Sea Pollution (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

2. In these Regulations “Principal Regulations” means Sea Pollution (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 372 of 2012 ).

3. Regulation 2 of the Principal Regulations is amended –

(a) by deleting the definitions of “garbage”, “Minister”, “MARPOL Convention” and “ship”,

(b) by inserting after the definition of “all plastics” the following:

“ ‘solid bulk cargo’ means any cargo, other than liquid or gas, consisting of a combination of particles, granules or any larger pieces of material generally uniform in composition, which is loaded directly into the cargo spaces of a ship without any intermediate form of containment”, and

(c) by inserting after the definition of “domestic wastes” the following:

“ ‘electronic record book’ means a device or system, approved or accepted by the Minister or by a recognised organisation with which the State has an agreement under the European Communities (Ship Inspection and Survey Organisations) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 275 of 2011 ), used to electronically record the required entries for discharges, transfers and other operations as required under these Regulations in lieu of a hard copy record book.”.

4. Regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations is amended—

(a) in paragraph (1)(c), by substituting “in accordance with the criteria set out in Schedule 1A” for “taking into account guidelines developed by the Organization”, and

(b) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

“(2A) Solid bulk cargoes as defined in Regulation VI/1-1.2 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)1974, other than grain, shall be classified in accordance with Schedule 1A and declared by the shipper as to whether or not they are harmful to the marine environment¹ .”.

5. Regulation 7(1) of the Principal Regulations is amended by substituting for subparagraph (b) the following:

“(b) Discharge of cargo residues that cannot be recovered using commonly available methods for unloading, where all the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) cargo residues contained in hold washing water do not include any substances classified as harmful to the marine environment according to the criteria set out in Schedule 1A;

(ii) solid bulk cargoes as defined in regulation VI/1-1.2 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, other than grain, shall be classified in accordance with Schedule 1A and declared by the shipper as to whether or not they are harmful to the marine environment;

(iii) cleaning agents or additives contained in hold washing water do not include any substances classified as harmful to the marine environment taking into account guidelines developed by the Organization;

(iv) where the conditions of this subparagraph have been fulfilled, discharge of cargo hold washing water containing residues shall be made as far as practicable from the nearest land or the nearest ice shelf and not less than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land or the nearest ice shelf.”.

6. Regulation 10 of the Principal Regulation is amended by substituting for paragraph (3) the following:

“(3) Every-

(a) ship of 100 gross tonnage and above,

(b) ship which is certified to carry 15 or more persons engaged in voyages to ports or offshore terminals under the jurisdiction of another Party to the Convention, and

(c) fixed or floating platform,

shall be provided by the owner with a book “Garbage Record Book”, whether as a part of the ship’s log book, or as an electronic record book which shall be approved by the Administration taking into account the Guidelines developed by the Organization, or otherwise, shall be in the form specified in Schedule 2, and the following provisions shall have effect:

(i) each discharge operation, or completed incineration, shall, in accordance with Schedule 2, be recorded in the Garbage Record Book and the recording of such an entry shall be accompanied by the signature (to be appended on the date of the incineration or discharge) by the officer in charge. Each completed page or group of electronic entries of the Garbage Record Book shall be signed by the master of the ship. The entries in the Garbage Record Book of a ship registered in another state that is a Party to the MARPOL Convention shall, when the ship is in the jurisdiction of the State, be in English, French or Spanish as well as in the official language of the state whose flag the ship is entitled to fly. The entries in the official national language as aforesaid shall prevail in case of a dispute or discrepancy;

(ii) the entry for each discharge into the sea under Regulation 4, 5 or 6 or section 5.2 of chapter 5 of part II-A of the Polar Code shall include date and time, position of the ship (latitude and longitude), category of the garbage and the estimated amount (in cubic metres) discharged. For discharge of cargo residues, the discharge start and stop positions shall be recorded in addition to the foregoing;

(iii) the entry for each completed incineration shall include date and time and position of the ship (latitude and longitude) at the start and stop of incineration, categories of garbage incinerated, and the estimated amount incinerated for each category in cubic metres;

(iv) the entry for each discharge to a port reception facility or another ship shall include date and time of discharge, port or facility or name of ship, categories of garbage discharged, and the estimated amount discharged for each category in cubic metres;

(v) the Garbage Record Book along with receipts obtained from reception facilities shall be kept on board the ship or the fixed or floating platform, and in such a place as to be readily available for inspection at all reasonable times. This document shall be preserved for a period of at least 2 years from the date of the last entry made in it;

(vi) in the event of any discharge or accidental loss referred to in Regulation 7 an entry shall be made in the Garbage Record Book, or in the case of any ship of less than 100 gross tonnage, an entry shall be made in the ship’s logbook of the date and time of occurrence, port or position of the ship at time of occurrence (latitude, longitude and water depth if known), the reason for the discharge or loss, details of the items discharged or lost, categories of garbage discharged or lost, estimated amount for each category in cubic metres, reasonable precautions taken to prevent or minimize such discharge or accidental loss and general remarks.”.

7. The following Schedule is inserted after Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations:

“Schedule 1A

Criteria for the classification of solid bulk cargoes as harmful to the marine environment

For the purpose of this Schedule, cargo residues are considered to be harmful to the marine environment (HME) if they are residues of solid bulk cargoes which are classified according to the criteria of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) meeting the following parameters² :

1.1 Acute Aquatic Toxicity Category 1;

1.2 Chronic Aquatic Toxicity Category 1 or 2;

1.3 Carcinogenicity³ category 1A or 1B combined with not being rapidly degradable and having high bioaccumulation;

1.4 Mutagenicity³ Category 1A or 1B combined with not being rapidly degradable and having high bioaccumulation;

1.5 Reproductive Toxicity³ Category 1A or 1B combined with not being rapidly degradable and having high bioaccumulation;

1.6 Specific Target Organ Toxicity Repeated Exposure³ Category 1 combined with not being rapidly degradable and having high bioaccumulation;

1.7 Solid bulk cargoes containing or consisting of synthetic polymers, rubber, plastics, or plastic feedstock pellets (this includes materials that are shredded, milled, chopped or macerated or similar materials).”.

8. Schedule 2 to the Principal Regulations is amended –

(a) by substituting for paragraph 3 the following:

“3 Description of the garbage

Garbage is to be grouped into categories for the purposes of recording in parts I and II of the Garbage Record Book (or ship’s logbook) as follows:

Part I

A Plastics

B Food wastes

C Domestic wastes

D Cooking oil

E Incinerator ashes

F Operational wastes

G Animal carcasses

H Fishing gear

I E-waste

Part II

J Cargo residues (non-HME)

K Cargo residues (HME)”,

and

(b) in paragraph 4, by substituting for the matter at “RECORD OF GARBAGE DISCHARGES” the following:

“RECORD OF GARBAGE DISCHARGES

PART 1

For all garbage other than cargo residues as defined in regulation 1.2 (Definitions)

(All ships)

Garbage categories

Discharges under MARPOL Annex V regulations 4 (Discharge of garbage outside special areas), 5 (Special requirements for discharge of garbage from fixed or floating platforms) or 6 (Discharge of garbage within special areas) or chapter 5 of part II-A of the Polar Code

RECORD OF GARBAGE DISCHARGES

PART 2

For all garbage other than cargo residues as defined in regulation 1.2 (Definitions)

(Ships that carry solid bulk cargoes)

Garbage categories

Discharges under MARPOL Annex V regulations 4 (Discharge of garbage outside special areas), or 6 (Discharge of garbage within special areas)

”.

GIVEN under my hand,

16 September 2025

SEÁN CANNEY,

Minister of State at the Department of Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend the Sea Pollution (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 372 of 2012 ) which give effect to Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 related thereto (MARPOL 73/78).

The purpose of these Regulations is to provide for the use of electronic record books as an alternative to a hard copy record book, to insert criteria for determining whether cargo residues are harmful to the marine environment, and to insert a new Garbage Record Book format with a new category for e-waste. These Regulations also provide for the mandatory use of the Garbage Record Book for ships between 100 and 400 gross tons.

1 For ships engaged in international voyages, reference is made to section 4.2.3 of the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes (IMSBC) Code; for ships not engaged in international voyages, other means of declaration may be used, as determined by the Administration.

2 The criteria are based on UN GHS. For specific products (e.g. metals and inorganic metal compounds) guidance available in UN GHS, annexes 9 and 10 is essential for proper interpretation of the criteria and classification and should be followed.

3 Products that are classified for Carcinogenicity, Mutagenicity, Reproductive Toxicity or Specific Target Organ Toxicity Repeated Exposure for oral and dermal hazards or without specification of the exposure route in the hazard statement.