Amendments to Marine Protection Rules Part 199: Air pollution from Ships
Overview
MARPOL is the International Maritime Organization (IMO) convention for the prevention of pollution from ships. Annex VI of MARPOL seeks to address the impact of air pollution from shipping activities on human health and environments in and around port communities, and the impacts of emissions from shipping activities on climate change and ozone layer depletion.
The Marine Protection Rules Part 199: Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships (Part 199 Rules) are a key part of the legislation bringing MARPOL Annex VI into effect in New Zealand. After a first round of consultation in July-August 2021, further changes were proposed to ensure that the rules work properly when they come into force.
Maritime NZ sought feedback on proposed changes to the Part 199 Rules to make the nitrogen oxides (NOx) requirements more workable for operators of New Zealand ships that only voyage within New Zealand’s jurisdiction (domestic voyaging ships). Maritime NZ and Te Manatū Waka also took the opportunity to make a number of minor and technical changes to the Part 199 Rules, to fix small errors and ensure the rules work as intended.
Consultation documents
Frequently asked questions
A document with answers to some frequently asked questions on the NOx requirements can be found here:
Frequently asked questions [PDF: 222kB, 4 pages]
Background
The Part 199 rules are intended to prevent and reduce air pollution from a variety of substances produced and carried by ships. They apply to New Zealand ships anywhere in the world and to foreign ships in New Zealand. They do not apply to ships on fresh water (rivers and lakes).
The Minister of Transport signed the Part 199 Rules on 16 March 2022. The rules were gazetted on 4 April 2022. However, they did not commence immediately because at that time New Zealand had not yet acceded to MARPOL Annex VI.
Most of the rules will come into force on 26 August 2022, 3 months after New Zealand’s accession to MARPOL Annex VI was lodged with the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Some of the rules will come into force on 1 November 2022. This aligns with amendments made by the IMO to MARPOL Annex VI that are scheduled to come into force worldwide on that date.
Part C3 of the part 199 Rules (the NOx requirements for domestic ships) remains suspended while this consultation is being done.
The full current version of Part 199 can be found here:
Contact us
If you have any questions or comments relating to this project, please email marpolannexviproject@maritimenz.govt.nz.