Liberia: Approval of Operational Manuals for ODMCS

Liberia Maritime Authority has issued a marine notice on the approval of operational manuals for Oil Discharge Monitoring and Control Systems (ODMCS).

This marine notice was published on March 20th, 2023, and is addressed to all ship owners, operators, masters, and officers of merchant ships, as well as authorized classification societies.

This notice provides guidance to vessel owners, operators, and managers in the
development and approval o Operational Manuals for Oil Discharge Monitoring and Control Systems (ODMCS) to meet the requirements of Regulation 31.4 of MARPOL Annex I.

The requirement applies to oil tankers of 150 gross tonnage and above equipped with an oil discharge monitoring and control system.

Regulation 31.4 of MARPOL Annex I requires ships installed with ODMCS to have
onboard an operational manual approved by the Administration providing instructions as to the operation of the system.

This shall cover manual as well as automatic operations and shall be intended to ensure that at no time shall oil be discharged except in compliance with the conditions specified in regulation 34 of MARPOL Annex I.

Marine Notice POL-002 provides guidance for manual means of monitoring and procedures for discharge in case of ODMCS failure.

ODMCS Manual Preparation

The ODMCS manual should be prepared to take into account the technical provisions in Resolution MEPC.108(49) as amended by Resolution MEPC.240(65) for oil tankers constructed on or after 01 January 2005 or Assembly Resolution A.586(14) for oil tankers constructed before 2005.

A model format for an ODMCS manual is provided in Appendix 1 of this Marine Notice.

The ODMCS manual shall be written and available in English and a working language understood by the master and officers, if the working language is not English.

Each ODMCS manual shall identify the ship to which it applies, using the ship's name and IMO number.

All ODMCS manuals required under regulation 31.4 of MARPOL Annex I shall be approved by the Administration or an authorized RO.

The ODMCS manual that is submitted for approval to the Administration shall be in English.

A hard copy of the ODMCS manual may be sent to:

The Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Maritime Affairs, Republic of Liberia,
Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry, LLC,
Attn: Plan Review
22980 Indian Creek Drive, Suite 200
Dulles, Virginia
20166, USA

A soft copy of the ODMCS manual may be sent to planapproval@liscr.com.

If the ODMCS manual is submitted to the Administration for review, the following
documents are also required to be provided, as applicable:

a) General arrangement plan

b) Cargo system

c) Ballast system

d) Tank arrangement

e) Pumping, piping, and discharge arrangement

f) Manufacturer’s Equipment Manual: Oil discharge monitoring and control system details, installation, commissioning, operating, and troubleshooting

g) Calibration certificate

h) Approval certificates

To facilitate the review and plan approval process, it is recommended to complete the checklist in Appendix II to this notice which will be used by the Administration for plan approval, and attach it to the submitted plan.

The checklist identifies the applicable sections of the ODMCS manual.

Questions regarding this instruction, MARPOL requirements, and fees for ODMCS manual review and approval should be referred to regsandstandards@liscr.com or you may call +1-703-790-3434.

APPENDIX I: MODEL FORMAT OF OIL DISCHARGE MONITORING AND CONTROL SYSTEM

Cover Page
Table of contents
Record of changes
Index of sections

Part I: General

1.1 Ship Particulars and ODME data
1.2 Control of discharge of oil from cargo-tank areas of oil tankers
1.3 Extract from Manual on Oil Pollution Annex I – Prevention

Part II: Applicable regulations

2.1 List of applicable regulations

Part III: Systems Information and Instructions

3.1 General
3.2 Tank arrangement
- 3.2.1 Cargo tanks
- 3.2.2 Ballast tanks
3.3 Cargo Pumping and Piping System
- 3.3.1 Cargo pumps
3.4 Stripping system
3.5 Cargo tank Washing System
3.6 Ballast Pumping and Piping System
- 3.6.1 Ballast pumps
3.7 Ship’s Outlet for Overboard Discharge
3.8 ODME Description
- 3.8.1 Calculation of response time
3.9 Monitoring System Operational Procedures
3.10 Operation in Case of Malfunction of the Oil Discharge Monitoring and Control System
3.11 Maintenance and Maintenance Log