Conventions and Regulatory Framework
What the exam tests
Conventions and Regulatory Framework tests the IMO instruments that set ship design, operation, crewing, security and pollution standards, and the certificates and inspections that enforce them.
Core rules
- SOLAS covers construction, fire and life-saving, radio, navigation safety and management; the ISM Code is implemented through SOLAS. ISPS covers port and ship security.
- MARPOL has six annexes: I oil, II noxious liquid substances, III harmful packaged substances, IV sewage, V garbage, VI air pollution. Discharge rules differ by annex and special area.
- STCW sets minimum training, certification and watchkeeping standards. MLC, 2006 sets seafarer living and working conditions. COLREG sets collision regulations; Load Lines sets freeboard and load-line marks.
- Port State Control inspects foreign ships against these instruments; a certificate is evidence, not a guarantee of compliance.
- Ballast Water Management and Anti-Fouling Systems conventions control invasive species and hull coatings.
Worked example
A ship wants to discharge machinery-space bilge water outside a special area under MARPOL Annex I. The basic conditions are: the ship is proceeding en route; the oily mixture is processed through 15 ppm separating equipment; the effluent does not exceed 15 ppm; and the mixture is not from cargo pump-room bilges of an oil tanker and not mixed with cargo residues. The oil record book must record the operation. Inside a special area, stricter conditions apply, so the outside-area rule cannot simply be reused.
Traps
Do not mix Annex IV sewage with Annex I oil. Do not assume a SOLAS certificate proves full compliance. Special areas are not identical across MARPOL annexes. Check the latest amendment date and entry-into-force status before relying on a limit.