Environmental Statement - Maersk Oil

Balloch Field Development Environmental Statement
Appendix A – Review of Legislation
emergency planning
(shipping)
(Implementation of Ship‐Source
Pollution Directive) Regulations 2009
The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution
Preparedness, Response and Co‐
operation) Regulations 1998 (as
amended 2001)
source polluting discharges constitute in principle a criminal offence. According to the Directive this relates to discharges
of oil or other noxious substances from vessels. Minor discharges shall not automatically be considered as offences,
except where their repetition leads to a deterioration in the quality of the water, including in the case of repeated
discharges
The Directive applies to all vessels, polluting discharges are forbidden in:
Internal waters, including ports, of the EU
Territorial waters of an EU country
Straits used for international navigation subject to the regime of transit passage, as laid down in the 1982
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
The exclusive economic zone (EZZ) of an EU country
The high seas
The Merchant Shipping (Implementation of Ship‐Source Pollution Directive) Regulations 2009 implement EU Directive
2005/35/EEC by making amendments to the following:
The Merchant Shipping Act 1995
The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996
The Merchant Shipping (Dangerous or Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk) Regulations 1996 (as amended 2004)
The Regulations limit the defences available to the master or owner of a ship involved in an oil spill or chemical spill and
extend liability for the discharge to others such as charterers and classification societies. This closed a loop hole in the
existing legislation where some large spills were not open to prosecution under MARPOL.
Regulator: DECC
Requires the Operator to produce a site specific Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (OPEP) to be submitted to DECC and
statutory consultees at least 2 months prior to start of activities. An OPEP needs to cover the procedures and reporting
requirements on how to deal with an incident where hydrocarbons are being released into the sea.
All approved OPEPs must be reviewed and resubmitted to DECC and consultees no later than five years after initial
submission. In order to ensure adequate cover the operator must submit the plan at least 2 months prior to the end of
this deadline.
Regular reviews are further required to ensure response capabilities, operation details and contact details remain
current.
Vessels that are in transit will be covered under the SOPEP however when once on site and carrying out work for the
operator the vessels should be covered by the operators OPEP.
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