Sewage

Discharge of sewage in polar waters is generally prohibited. However, there are times when such discharges must or may occur. In these instances, the Polar Code has set forward the following requirements:

• All MARPOL regulations must be followed.
• When the discharge is made up of sewage broken down into minute particles or fragments and disinfected, the discharge is set at a distance greater than 3 nautical miles from any fast ice, ice-shelf, and as far as possible from any area of ice concentration greater than 1/10.
• When the discharge has not been broken down or disinfected, the discharge must be more than 12 nautical miles from any ice shelf or fast ice and as far as possible from areas of ice concentration greater than 1/10.
• Discharge may be allowed when the ship has an operating sewage treatment plant that has been approved by the administration. These ships must be as far as practicable from land, ice-shelves, fast ice, or ice concentration greater than 1/10 when discharging.
• Category A and Category B ships built after January 1, 2017, may only discharge if they have an operating sewage treatment plant. If these ships are operating in polar waters for an extended period of time, then they must seek approval for discharges by the administration.

To learn more about Polar Code visit our Polar Code Online Training web page.