Testing and inspection of oil filtering equipment - AMSA Marine Notice 03/2024

AMSA has recently published Marine Notice 03/2024 “Testing and inspection of oil filtering equipment approved to meet Resolution MEPC.107(49)”. The Marine Notice is  intended to inform ship operators and recognised organisations of AMSA’s interpretation for the installation and testing of oil filtering equipment (oily water separators) installed on ships, and highlighting that AMSA port State control officers (PSCOs) will inspect the condition, and operation, of the oily-water separator, filtering equipment and alarm, stopping or monitoring arrangements as described in the Procedures for Port State Control, 2023 Resolution A.1185(33).

The Marine Notice states that “Operational testing of oil filtering equipment will require the equipment to be configured to circulate liquid from bilge tank to bilge tank (recirculating facility) and provide an effluent sample to the 15ppm bilge alarm – simulating the discharge of 15ppm bilge separator effluent overboard”

AMSA’s interpretation is that the failure of the 15ppm bilge alarm to activate the automatic stopping device in the absence of a representative sample of the effluent, represents non-compliance with Resolution MEPC.107(49). That is there is no fail-safe arrangement required by technical specification 4.1.3 of the Resolution MEPC.107(49).

Full details of the Marine Notice are available from AMSA here.