IMO: Provisional categorization of liquid substances

The International Maritime Organization on 1 December 2023 published MEPC.2/Circ.29, Provisional categorization of liquid substances in accordance with MARPOL Annex II and the IBC Code.

Introduction

This circular is issued in accordance with regulation 6.3 of MARPOL Annex II, replacing all previously issued circulars under this title.

Lists of annexes

The circular includes the following annexes:

Annex 1: List 1: Pure or technically pure products and mixtures assessed as a whole.

Annex 2: List 2: Pollutant-only mixtures containing at least 99% by weight of components already assessed by IMO.

Annex 3: List 3: (Trade-named) mixtures containing at least 99% by weight of components already assessed by IMO, presenting safety hazards.

Annex 4: List 4: Pollutant-only mixtures containing one or more components, forming more than 1% by weight of the mixture, which have not yet been assessed by IMO.

Annex 5: List 5: Substances only used as components in trade-named mixtures.

Annex 6: Synonyms for vegetable oils.

Annex 7: List of country abbreviations.

Annex 8: Tripartite agreement contact addresses.

Annex 9: Manufacturers authorized to conduct pollutant-only assessments by calculation.

Annex 10: Cargo tank cleaning additives.

Annex 11: Biofuels recognized under the 2019 Guidelines for the carriage of blends of biofuels and MARPOL Annex I cargoes.

Annex 12: Energy-rich fuels subject to Annex I of MARPOL.

Annexes 1 to 5 set out lists of Noxious Liquid Substances (NLS) (or products, as they are referred to hereinafter), by category, with associated carriage requirements, as assessed and confirmed by the ESPH Technical Group of the PPR Sub-Committee, or as established under tripartite agreements and communicated to the Organization, in accordance with regulation 6.3 of MARPOL Annex II.

Annexes 6 to 8, 11 and 12 are intended to facilitate the reporting of tripartite agreements and the interpretation of abbreviations used in annexes 1 to 5.

Product lists (annexes 1 to 5)

The majority of products contained within this circular are trade-named substances. Since trade names are not translated, these products have been recorded exactly as communicated to the Organization and the lists are issued in English only.

The present circular incorporates the following amendments to the information set out in the previous circular (i.e. MEPC.2/Circ.28):

.1 any new products, trade-named mixtures and cleaning additives that have been assessed by the ESPH Technical Group during the year;
.2 amendments to existing product entries included in the product lists; and
.3 new product entries covered by any new tripartite agreements communicated to the Organization since MEPC.2/Circ.28.

Any amendments made to the product lists (annexes 1 to 5) since the issue of MEPC.2/Circ.28 are identified by shading of the field in which a change has been made.

In accordance with PPR.1/Circ.10, the expiry date for products listed in annex 2 and 3 that were assessed prior to ESPH 25 (14 to 18 October 2019) is 31 December 2025.

In certain cases, products may have been deleted from the product lists due to the following reasons:

.1 changes have been made to the product names (trade-named products);
.2 withdrawal of products that are no longer manufactured or shipped (trade-named products);
.3 products which have been deemed to meet the criteria for a complex mixture considered to be a MARPOL Annex I cargo;
.4 products that will be shipped under generic entries in the IBC Code or as list 1 products;
.5 products that will be shipped under the IMDG Code only; or
.6 entries that were covered by tripartite agreements and have reached their expiry dates, but which have not been assessed during the period specified in the tripartite agreement.

Notwithstanding the above, if a tripartite agreement expires, or there is a change in carriage requirements for a product from the preceding to the new circular, while a shipment is in transit, then the carriage requirements at time of loading will apply.

When a cargo is loaded prior to the entry-into-force date and unloaded after the entry-into-force date of an amendment to the IBC Code, the relevant provisions of the IBC Code at the time of loading should be applicable until the cargo has been unloaded.

Following the relevant decisions of ESPH 28 and ESPH 29, a list of products removed from lists 2 and 3 in accordance with the review prescribed by PPR.1/Circ.10 for the reasons set out in sub-paragraphs .2 to .5 of paragraph above has been published on the IMO website to act as a historical record of these removals.

This document can be accessed at:

https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/TripartiteAgreements.aspx

by following the link under "Related documents" in the right-hand column of the page.

Products marked with an asterisk (*) indicate that deviations from the normal assignment criteria, as set out in chapter 21 of the IBC Code, were used for the assignment of certain carriage requirements, based on expert judgement.

The definition of list 1 products, as contained in the present circular, corresponds to the definition of products contained in chapters 17 and 18 of the IBC Code.

Products included in this list are either covered by a tripartite agreement, with an expiry date, i.e. have not yet been assessed nor had their carriage requirements confirmed, or have had changes made to their carriage requirements subsequent to the latest set of amendments to the IBC Code.

Such products will be duly incorporated into the IBC Code when next amended and consequently removed from list 1.

The remaining product lists (annexes 2 to 5) do not correspond to lists contained within the IBC Code and entries contained in these lists will remain in the circular, subject to the provisions of paragraph above.

For products included in list 1 that have amended carriage requirements subsequent to the latest set of amendments to the IBC Code, the ESPH Technical Group will decide whether or not to add a qualifier to the product name.

The use of a qualifier is intended to permit shipment of the reassessed product with the updated carriage requirements, as listed in the MEPC.2/Circular prior to the entry into force of the next amendment to the IBC Code.

If it is agreed that a qualifier is appropriate, then the product name included in this circular will be the IBC Code product name followed by "(amended)," e.g. Ethyl tert-butyl ether (amended), which will be the new and provisional product name.

The addition of a qualifier to the product name means that the reassessed product with the new and provisional product name will be a separate product in respect of the IBC Code, even if the chemical composition of the product is the same.

Where a product with a qualifier is to be shipped, the product should be included in the addendum to the Certificate.

Any footnotes to entries in list 1 (found in parentheses following the product entry) of this circular are defined at the end of chapter 17 of the IBC Code.

Country and territory codes (annex 7)

The list of country and territory abbreviations is that used in the Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS), the system used by the Organization as the repository for all product information received and decisions taken regarding the assignment of hazard profiles (by the GESAMP/EHS Working Group) and carriage requirements (by the ESPH Technical Group), for each product.

These codes are based on the standard UN/LOCODE system, a geographic code scheme developed and maintained by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), a United Nations body.

The codes are included in annex 7. Part 1 of annex 7 presents entries by code order, while part 2 gives a listing by country/territory order.

Cargo tank cleaning additives (annex 10)

MARPOL Annex II sets out limits for the discharge of NLS and includes restrictions on the types of cleaning additives that can be used in tank washing operations.

All cleaning additives set out in this circular (annex 10) have been evaluated by the ESPH Technical Group, in accordance with the provisions set out in the Revised tank cleaning additives guidance note and reporting form (MEPC.1/Circ.590), and have been found to meet the requirements of regulation 13.5.2 of MARPOL Annex II.

Where products or their solutions appearing in chapter 17 or 18 of the IBC Code or in list 1 of this circular are used as washing media, their discharge shall be governed by regulation 13.5.1 of MARPOL Annex II. As such, they are not required to be listed in annex 10 of this circular.

Biofuels used in biofuel/MARPOL Annex I blends (annex 11)

Annex 11 sets out the list of approved biofuels, as covered by the 2019 Guidelines for the carriage of blends of biofuels and MARPOL Annex I cargoes (MSC-MEPC.2/Circ.17).

Energy-rich fuels subject to Annex I of MARPOL (annex 12)

Annex 12 sets out the list of recognized energy-rich fuels in accordance with the Guidelines for the carriage of energy-rich fuels and their blends (MEPC.1/Circ.879).

For more information, please see the document below (available only to subscribers):