Annex III Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances Carried by Sea in Packaged Form

For the purposes of this annex:

Unless expressly provided otherwise, the regulations of this Annex apply to all ships carrying harmful substances in packaged form.

The carriage of harmful substances is prohibited, except in accordance with the provisions of this Annex.

To supplement the provisions of this Annex, the Government of each Party to the Convention shall issue, or cause to be issued, detailed requirements on packing, marking, labelling, documentation, stowage, quantity limitations and exceptions for preventing or minimizing pollution of the marine environment by harmful substances.

For the purposes of this Annex, empty packagings which have been used previously for the carriage of harmful substances shall themselves be treated as harmful substances unless adequate precautions have been taken to ensure that they contain no residue that is harmful to the marine environment.

The requirements of this Annex do not apply to ship's stores and equipment.

Packages shall be adequate to minimize the hazard to the marine environment, having regard to their specific contents.

Packages containing a harmful substance shall be durably marked or labelled to indicate that the substance is a harmful substance in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IMDG Code.

The method of affixing marks or labels on packages containing a harmful substance shall be in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IMDG Code.

Transport information relating to the carriage of harmful substances shall be in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IMDG Code and shall be made available to the person or organization designated by the port State authority.

Each ship carrying harmful substances shall have a special list, manifest or stowage plan setting forth, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IMDG Code, the harmful substances on board and the location thereof. A copy of one of these documents shall be made available before departure to the person or organization designated by the port State authority.

Harmful substances shall be properly stowed and secured so as to minimize the hazards to the marine environment without impairing the safety of the ship and persons on board.

Certain harmful substances may, for sound scientific and technical reasons, need to be prohibited for carriage or be limited as to the quantity which may be carried aboard any one ship. In limiting the quantity, due consideration shall be given to size, construction and equipment of the ship, as well as the packaging and the inherent nature of the substances.

Jettisoning of harmful substances carried in packaged form shall be prohibited, except where necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of the ship or saving life at sea.

Subject to the provisions of the present Convention, appropriate measures based on the physical, chemical and biological properties of harmful substances shall be taken to regulate the washing of leakages overboard, provided that compliance with such measures would not impair the safety of the ship and persons on board.

A ship when in a port or an offshore terminal of another Party is subject to inspection by officers duly authorized by such Party concerning operational requirements under this Annex.

Where there are clear grounds for believing that the master or crew are not familiar with essential shipboard procedures relating to the prevention of pollution by harmful substances, the Party shall take such steps, including carrying out detailed inspection and, if required, will ensure that the ship shall not sail until the situation has been brought to order in accordance with the requirements of this Annex.

Procedures relating to the port State control prescribed in article 5 of the present Convention shall apply to this regulation.

Nothing in this regulation shall be construed to limit the rights and obligations of a Party carrying out control over operational requirements specifically provided for in the present Convention.

Parties shall use the provisions of the Code for Implementation in the execution of their obligations and responsibilities contained in this Annex.

Every Party shall be subject to periodic audits by the Organization in accordance with the audit standard to verify compliance with and implementation of this Annex.

The Secretary-General of the Organization shall have responsibility for administering the Audit Scheme, based on the guidelines developed by the Organization.

Every Party shall have responsibility for facilitating the conduct of the audit and implementation of a programme of actions to address the findings, based on the guidelines developed by the Organization.

Audit of all Parties shall be: