1 The Maritime Safety Committee and the Marine
Environment Protection Committee have become aware of several instances
where deficiencies have been raised by port State control officers
and other surveyors concerning requiring the ship's crew to blank
off bilge pumping overboard discharges. This practice is in contravention
of SOLAS regulation II-1/21,
as the bilge pumping arrangement is rendered inoperative and leads
to a potentially dangerous situation where the ship is left unable
to efficiently and promptly tackle an emergency situation in case
of flooding or fire.
2 The Committees, being concerned about the above
situation, request full compliance with the requirements of SOLAS regulation II-1/21 in relation to
those bilge discharge piping systems whose primary purpose is to secure
the ship's safety in the event of emergency situations, such as fire
or flooding and which, as such, must be available for use at all times.
3 Consequently, the Marine Environment Protection
Committee, at its fifty-eighth session (6 to 10 October 2008) and
the Maritime Safety Committee, at its eighty-fifth session (26 November
to 5 December 2008), approved the issuance of this circular and invited
Member Governments to bring its content to the attention of their
maritime and port authorities, including port State control officers.