Published on: 09 December 2020
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) has released two Marine Guidance Notes (MGN’s) to provide further clarity on what engine emissions need to be met by which vessels. The guidance notes look at both the applicability of the Non Road Mobile Machinery regulations and IMO MAROL Annex VI (Tier II/III) and looks at acceptable alternatives to IMO tier III engines:
MGN 646 - Engine Emission Standards Applicable to Inland Waterway Vessels.
This Marine Guidance Note provides clarification concerning the applicable engine standards for vessels operating on inland waterways. MARPOL Annex VI requirements apply to vessels operating on tidal Category C, and D waters, as well as to sea. Requirements of the NRMM Regulation apply to vessels operating on Category A, B, C and D waters. This Notice is intended to provide an overview of the regulatory framework governing engine emission standards applicable to United Kingdom inland waterway vessels, and to provide guidance on the practical application of those requirements in the context of vessel type and area of operation on United Kingdom inland waterways. This information is provided as guidance only and is not intended to alter the existing regulatory framework.
MGN 646 can be downloaded here.
MGN 647 - Alternative to the IMO MARPOL Annex VI Tier III Standard Engine.
This Marine Guidance Notice provides guidance concerning the choice of an alternative engine in the event the owner or operator is not able to purchase an IMO MARPOL Annex VI Tier III standard engine.
In accordance with MARPOL Annex VI, ships which operate in IMO designed NOx Emission Control Areas are required to have an engine which meets the IMO MARPOL Annex VI Tier III standard. In this Note an IMO MARPOL Annex VI Tier III standard engine is referred to as an IMO engine. The IMO standard is implemented by the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships)
Regulations 2008 (“the 2008 Regulations”). The Stage V engine is certified in accordance with EU Non-Road Mobile Machinery Regulation 2016/1628 (“the NRMM Regulation”) which is implemented in the UK by the Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type-Approval and Emission of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/764). This Marine Guidance Notice compares these two engine types, explores technical equivalence between them and concludes on an alternative application under Regulation 4 (Equivalents) of the 2008 Regulations.
MGN 647 can be downloaded here.