Recently, several ships have been detained under port state control (PSC) inspections due to dirty condition of an oily water separator for non conformity with the requirements of MARPOL Annex I. The dirty condition of the oily water separator was caused by the bilge pump which was in common use as a sludge pump for sludge transfer. The common use of the pump is acceptable for ships whose keel laid before 31 December 1990, but it should be kept always in clean condition through careful maintenance.

Therefore, we would like to recommend you to keep the oily water separators clean giving the following instructions to your masters and chief engineers in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, even detention at PSC.

1. Sludge in sludge tanks should not be discharged through an oily water separator.
2. After a bilge pump has been used for sludge transfer from sludge tanks, the pump and piping lines should be cleaned up prior to operation of the oily water separator.
3. The chief engineer or the engineer in charge should supervise sludge and bilge control on the spot.
4. An oily water separator should be maintained in good condition according to the maintenance program.

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If you have any inquiry, please feel free to contact the Survey Department at the Head Office of the Society at Fax + 81 3 5226 2029.