The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008
UK Statutory Instrument 2008 No. 2924 — creates 10 criminal offences.
- Made
- 12 November 2008
- In force from
- 8 December 2008
- Extent
- Not stated
- Subject
- Health and safety, environment, waste and fisheries
- Made under
- Merchant Shipping Act 1995
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
These Regulations implement Annex VI (Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (“the MARPOL Convention”). Annex VI came into force internationally on 19th May 2005. Detailed technical requirements are imposed by reference to Merchant Shipping Notices 1776 (M), 1734 (M+F), 1735 (M+F), 1613 and 1819 (M+F). Part 2 of the Regulations provides for the survey and certification of ships; The main provisions of Part 3— control emissions of ozone-depleting substances, nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide (regulations 20 to 22); where appropriate, regulate harbours or terminals operating vapour emission control systems for volatile compounds (regulation 23); control shipboard incineration (regulation 24); impose requirements in respect of fuel oil quality (regulation 25). Part 4 of the Regulations makes provision in relation to powers of inspection and detention of ships. Provision is also made for jurisdiction over offences committed outside United Kingdom waters (regulation 35) and for suspension of proceedings at flag state request (regulation 36). A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared and copies may be obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“MCA”), Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website www.opsi.gov.uk. A copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Merchant Shipping Notices and Marine Guidance Notes are published by the MCA. Copies may be obtained from Mail Marketing (Scotland), MCA, P O Box 87, Glasgow G14 0JF (telephone number 0141 300 4906; fax 0141 950 2726; e-mail orders mca@promo-solution.com). They may also be accessed via the MCA’s website http:/www.mcga.gov.uk, which also has details of any amendments or replacements. The STCW Convention, the MARPOL Convention, its Protocols and amendments and resolutions of the Marine Environment Protection Committee and the Tonnage Convention can be obtained from the International Maritime Organization, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR. Copies of the British Standards publications referred to in these Regulations may be obtained from any outlet operated by the British Standards Institution or by post from the British Standards Institution at Standards House, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is available from the United Nations Environment Programme P O Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya (www.unep.org/ozone).
Offences created by this instrument
- Any contravention of— a regulation 5(1), 6(1), 7(1), 8(1), 9(1), (2) or (3), 10(2), 18(4), 19(1) or (2), 20(3), 23(3)… regulation 32(1) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- a regulation 5(1), 6(1), 7(1), 8(1), 9(1), (2) or (3), 10(2), 18(4), 19(1) or (2), 20(3), 23(3) or (4) or 25(9)(c) of… regulation 32(1)(a) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- b regulation 18(5), 21(6) or 24(2) is an offence by the owner of the ship in question regulation 32(1)(b) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- c regulation 20(1), 21(4), 22, 23(6), 24(1), (4), (6), (7), (8) (9), (10) or (11), 25(3), (4), (5), (8), (10) or (11)… regulation 32(1)(c) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- d regulation 15(5) or 19 is an offence by the owner, manager, demise charterer and master of the ship in question regulation 32(1)(d) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- e regulation 18(3) is an offence by the person in question regulation 32(1)(e) · Status not determined · Mixed — some elements strict, some not
- f regulation 23(1) or (2) is an offence by the harbour authority or terminal operator in question regulation 32(1)(f) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- g regulation 25(2) is an offence by the fuel oil supplier in question regulation 32(1)(g) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- h regulation 25(7) or (9)(a) or (b) is an offence by the local supplier of fuel oil in question regulation 32(1)(h) · Status not determined · Strict liability
- A fuel oil supplier’s representative who makes a false declaration in a bunker delivery note is guilty of an offence… regulation 32(3) · Status not determined · Strict liability
What Parliament said about it
Contributions, debates and written statements mentioning this instrument by name. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
- Merchant Shipping and Other Transport (Environmental Protection) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018
Lords · Grand Committee · 23 January 2019 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Sugg) (Con)
My Lords, as well as speaking to these regulations, if it is convenient I will speak also to the draft Ship Recycling (Facilities and Requirements for Hazardous Materials on Ships) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The regulations are made, for the most part, under the EU withdrawal Act. The Act retains EU-derived legislation in UK law. It also makes provision in Section 8 to correct deficiencies in such EU-derived legislation that arise from the UK leaving the EU. There are some changes made under Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act. These update references to an EU directive…
- Ship and Port Security (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018
Lords · Lords Chamber · 29 January 2019 · Lord Berkeley (Lab)
My Lords, I have a very quick question on this one, to do with air pollution and the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008. This basically moves the responsibility for ensuring minimum air pollution from ships from the European Economic Area to the United Kingdom. I do not want to go into any detail at all, except to say that I hope the Minister can confirm the statement that has been made many times before by Ministers in this House—that when we leave there will be no reduction in environmental standards. I am particularly interested in: “In Schedule 2…
- Draft Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021
Commons · Written Statements · 27 May 2021 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Robert Courts)
I have today published as a draft the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 and an accompanying draft explanatory memorandum. The draft regulations amend the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/2924) to implement international air pollution standards—agreed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO)—for the control of pollutant air emissions from ships. The draft regulations implement several air quality measures to control sulphur and nitrogen oxide (SOx and NOx) emissions from ships.…
- Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021
Lords · Grand Committee · 14 September 2021 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con)
My Lords, these draft regulations are necessary because of the ongoing need to reduce pollutant emissions from the maritime sector, to protect public health and the environment. The regulations do this by amending regulations in the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008, which I will refer to as the 2008 regulation, in order that our domestic legislation is aligned with the latest international limits and standards for sulphur and nitrogen dioxide emissions. The international requirements are set out in annexe VI of the International Convention for the…
- Draft Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021
Commons · General Committees · 15 September 2021 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Robert Courts)
I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) (Amendment) Regulations 2021. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. The draft regulations are necessary because of the ongoing need to reduce pollutant emissions from the maritime sector to protect public health and the environment. They will do that by amending the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) Regulations 2008 in order that our domestic legislation is aligned with the latest international limits and standards for sulphur…
- International Maritime Law Changes
Commons · Written Statements · 16 December 2025 · The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Keir Mather)
I am making this statement to introduce updates to maritime legislation as a result of changes to international law, in order to fulfil a commitment to Parliament to make such a statement. The legislation comes into force from 1 January 2026. Some domestic maritime secondary legislation includes provision for ambulatory reference to give direct effect in UK law to certain amendments to international maritime obligations. This means that where the legislation refers to a requirement of an international instrument, this reference will be ambulatory; in other words, it is a reference to the…
How Parliament handled it
Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.
Check the source
- This instrument on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text, including amendments made since
- Other instruments from 2008