Circular No. 50/2012/TT-BGTVT on the management of reception and treatment of oily liquid waste from ships at Vietnamese seaports

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships at Vietnamese seaports

Regulations on the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships at Vietnamese seaports

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Pursuant to the Vietnam Maritime Code dated June 14, 2005 and related guiding documents;

Pursuant to the Environmental Protection Law dated November 29, 2005 and related guiding documents;

Pursuant to Decree No. 51/2008/NĐ-CP dated April 22, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to Decree No. 21/2012/NĐ-CP dated March 21, 2012 of the Government on management of seaports and maritime channels;

Pursuant to Annex I of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973, as amended by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL 73/78 Convention);

At the proposal of the Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration and the Head of the Environment Department;

The Minister of Transport issues this Circular stipulating the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships at Vietnamese seaports,

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Circular stipulates the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships at Vietnamese seaports.

2. The management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships must comply with the provisions of this Circular and other relevant legal regulations. In case international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member have different provisions than those of this Circular, the provisions of such international treaties shall be applied.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, involved in the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships at Vietnamese seaports.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. Ship means a vessel or any other floating mobile structure specifically designed for operation at sea.

2. Oily liquid waste from ships refers to liquid waste containing oil received from the bilge system of the engine room, ballast water from oil cargo holds, washing water from fuel oil tanks, waste oil, sludge, leaking oil, ballast water mixed with oil, and washing water from cargo holds mixed with oil.

3. Receiving equipment means specialized equipment for receiving oily liquid waste from ships, including watercraft, tanker trucks or tanks capable of receiving oily liquid waste from ships, pipeline systems with standard flanges suitable according to Section 2.2.3 Chapter 2 Part 3 of Technical Regulations on ship systems to prevent marine pollution (QCVN 26:2010/BGTVT) and conforming to Regulation 13 of Annex I of the MARPOL 73/78 Convention.

4. Treating oily liquid waste refers to the process of using technological and technical solutions to transform, eliminate, isolate, destroy, or decompose the harmful properties and components of oily liquid waste (including recycling, recovery, incineration, co-processing, isolation, and landfilling) with the ultimate goal of not causing adverse effects on the environment or human health.

5. Management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships includes activities related to the reception, temporary storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal of oily liquid waste from ship operations at Vietnamese seaports:

6. Cargo/ballast operations refer to the activities of oil tankers when carrying cargo or running ballast.

7. Oil means petroleum in any form, including crude oil, fuel oil, residue oil, waste oil, and refined petroleum products listed in Annex I of this Circular.

Chapter 2

REGULATIONS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF RECEIVING AND TREATING OILY LIQUID WASTE FROM SHIPS

Article 4. Requirements for seaports and wharves

1. Seaports and wharves must be equipped with means to receive or stations to treat oily liquid waste if they engage in the following activities:

a) Receiving ships carrying crude oil that have completed a voyage of less than 72 hours or less than 1,200 nautical miles before arriving at the port;

b) Receiving ships carrying non-crude oil in barrels with an average daily quantity exceeding 1,000 tons;

c) Having ship repair workshops or cleaning tanks;

d) Receiving ships with residue oil tanks;

e) Receiving other ships containing bilge water mixed with oil and other residues not permitted to be discharged into the sea;

g) Receiving cargo in barrels where oil residues from mixed cargo ships cannot be discharged into the sea.

2. For seaports and wharves subject to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article that have not been equipped with means to receive or stations to treat oily liquid waste from ships, there must be a list of organizations and individuals providing services to receive and treat such waste provided by the Maritime Port Authority in the relevant area.

Article 5. Requirements for organizations and individuals implementing activities to receive and treat oily liquid waste from ships

1. Organizations and individuals implementing activities to receive and treat oily liquid waste from ships must be licensed to manage hazardous waste according to Articles 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and Article 14 of Circular No. 12/2011/TT-BTNMT dated April 14, 2011 (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 12/2011/TT-BTNMT) issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Hazardous Waste Management.

2. After each time of receiving and treating oily liquid waste:

a) For organizations and individuals having means to receive and systems to treat oily liquid waste in the port area: are responsible for reporting the results of receiving and treating to the Maritime Port Authority in the relevant area according to Form No. 02 attached to this Circular;

b) For organizations and individuals without a system to treat oily liquid waste in the seaport area, are responsible for reporting the results of receiving oily liquid waste to the Maritime Port Authority in the relevant area according to Form No. 02 attached along with hazardous waste certificates.

Article 6. Registration for activities to receive and treat oily liquid waste at seaports and wharves

1. Organizations and individuals wishing to implement activities to receive and treat oily liquid waste at seaports and wharves in Vietnam shall submit directly one set of documents or send via postal service to the Maritime Port Authority in the relevant area. The dossier includes:

a) Notification of implementation of activities to receive and treat oily liquid waste from ships according to Form No. 03 attached to this Circular;

b) Hazardous waste management business license issued by the competent authority (certified copy);

c) Wastewater discharge permit into water sources issued by the competent authority (certified copy).

2. Procedure for receiving and processing:

The Maritime Port Authority in the relevant area receives the dossier, checks the number and components of the dossier, issues a receipt and sets a date to return the result according to regulations:

a) In cases where the dossier is submitted directly, if the dossier does not meet the requirements, it will be returned and the organization or individual will be guided to complete the dossier according to Clause 1 of this Article;

b) In cases where the dossier is received through the postal system, if the dossier does not meet the requirements stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the Maritime Port Authority in the relevant area will guide the completion of the dossier in writing within one working day from the date of receipt of the dossier;

c) Within two working days from the date of receipt of the dossier according to Clause 1 of this Article, the Maritime Port Authority in the relevant area will issue a written notification to the organization or individual implementing activities to receive and treat oily liquid waste at Vietnamese seaports according to Form No. 04 attached to this Circular.

Article 7. Requirements for ships

1. Ships entering ports must meet all requirements as stipulated in Articles 49, 50, 51, 52, and 54 of Decree No. 21/2012/ND-CP dated March 21, 2012 of the Government on port management and maritime channels (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 21/2012/ND-CP).

2. Ships entering ports must declare the quantity of oily liquid waste on board in Item 16 of the General Declaration Form No. 03 issued together with Decree No. 21/2012/ND-CP, this declaration shall be made simultaneously with the ship's entry procedures at the port.

3. Ships requiring facilities for receiving and treating oily liquid waste must declare to the Maritime Port Office in the area at Item 21 of the General Declaration Form No. 03, according to Decree No. 21/2012/ND-CP.

4. The plan for receiving and delivering oily liquid waste at the port area and wharf where the ship arrives must be directly sent or transmitted through postal services to the Maritime Port Office in the area according to Form No. 27 of Decree No. 21/2012/ND-CP.

5. Oil tankers with a gross tonnage of 150 GT or more and other vessels with a gross tonnage of 400 GT or more must be equipped with Part I of the Oil Record Book - machinery space operations; oil tankers with a gross tonnage of 150 GT or more must also be equipped with Part II of the Oil Record Book - cargo/ballast operations (as prescribed in Appendix I of the MARPOL 73/78 Convention). These records must be kept complete and presented to competent authorities upon request.

6. It is strictly prohibited to transfer oily liquid waste from ships to receiving facilities without the consent of the Maritime Port Office in the area.

7. For ships arriving at ports where there are no facilities for receiving oily liquid waste and no list of units permitted to carry out such activities, they must retain the oily liquid waste on board and follow the instructions of the Maritime Port Office in the area.

Chapter 3

RESPONSIBILITIES OF MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RECEIVING AND TREATING OILY LIQUID WASTE FROM SHIPS

Article 8. Responsibilities of the Vietnam Maritime Administration

1. Directing the Maritime Port Offices in the areas to organize the implementation and supervise the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships at ports.

2. Taking the lead and coordinating with the General Department of Environment - Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to implement, inspect, and supervise the implementation of this Circular.

3. Compiling and reporting to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment once a year. The report must be submitted before December 31 each year according to Form No. 06 attached to this Circular.

Article 9. Responsibilities of the Maritime Port Office in the area

1. Directly inspect and supervise the reception and treatment of oily liquid waste at ports specified in Article 4 of this Circular.

2. Informing and facilitating organizations, individuals, and ships that fully comply with the requirements set forth in Articles 5 and 7 of this Circular to participate in the activity of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships.

3. Cooperating with the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment to inspect and supervise the implementation of this Circular in accordance with their respective specialties regarding the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships.

4. Facilitating ships that require the discharge of oily liquid waste to proceed with discharging according to regulations.

5. Maintaining a logbook and file on the annual management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste. The file must include full information about the time, number of receptions and treatments of oily liquid waste, and the volume of treated oily liquid waste. The annual logbook of the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste must be carried out according to Form No. 01 attached to this Circular.

a) For ports with a system for treating oily liquid waste, the file must contain monitoring records or environmental quality analysis certificates from authorized agencies according to current environmental protection laws;

b) For ports without a system for treating oily liquid waste, the file must contain hazardous waste certificates in compliance with Circular No. 12/2011/TT-BTNMT.

6. The logbook on the management of receiving and treating oily liquid waste at ports must be submitted to supervisory authorities when inspected and retained at the Maritime Port Office in the area for a minimum of five years from the date of entry.

7. Compiling and updating a list of organizations and individuals qualified to participate in the activity of receiving and treating oily liquid waste from ships; providing this list to ports, wharfs, and ships arriving at the port for the first time.

8. Informing and guiding ships arriving at ports as specified in Clause 7 of Article 7 of this Circular on the discharge of oily liquid waste.

9. Reporting the management situation of oily liquid waste from ships under their jurisdiction to the Vietnam Maritime Administration every six months. Reports must be submitted before June 20 and December 20 each year according to Form No. 05 attached to this Circular.

Chapter 4

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 10. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2013.

Article 11. Responsibility for Implementation

The Head of the Ministry’s Office, the Inspector General of the Ministry, Heads of Departments, Directors of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Ship Survey Bureau, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular./.