Every tanker which operates with crude oil washing, in accordance
with Regulation 13, must
be provided with an Operations and Equipment Manual, approved by the
Administration. The Manual must detail the system and equipment and
specify operational procedures (Regulation
13B of Annex I of MARPOL 73/78).
As the purpose of the Operations and Equipment Manual is
not only to provide guidance to the crew of the ship for the proper
operation of the system but also to provide information on the system
and its operational procedures for inspectors going on board for inspection
in ports, the Marine Environment Protection Committee decided to develop
a standard format for the Manual. It is hoped that the standard format
will help shipowners in preparing the Manuals for their ships and
Administrations in approving them.
The standard format contains:
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(1) Standardized wording for the introduction
of the Manual
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(2) Index of the Manual
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(3) 18 sections, detailing the information or
operational instructions to be provided under each section as required
by the revised Specifications for the Design, Operation and Control
of Crude Oil Washing Systems (Assembly resolution A.446(XI) as amended
by resolution A.497(XII) and resolution A.897(21)).
Administrations may require information and operational
instructions to be included in the Manual in addition to those specified
in the standard format. Such information should be included in part
2 of the Manual. If no such information or operational instructions
are required, the Manual will consist of one part only.
This publication also contains two examples of the Manual
developed by tanker owners in accordance with the standard format
for two actual tankers, one of which is a conventional pipeline tanker
of about 315,000 tons deadweight and the other a full free flow tanker
of about 270,000 tons deadweight. As will be seen from these two examples,
the information and operational instructions under the corresponding
sections vary considerably in their wording and presentation.
It should be noted in this connexion that:
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(1) What is standardized is the type of information
to be included in the Manual under each section and not its presentation.
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(2) The two examples show how the Manuals may
be presented. Although some sections may be generally applicable to
all ships, these are merely examples and should be treated as such.
The attention of Governments is drawn to the recommendation
made by the MEPC, inviting them to use the standard format when approving
the Manual and to ensure that, if the language of the Manual is neither
English nor French, the Manual includes a translation into one of
those languages.