Maritime Academy
Shipboard Incinerator
Classify the waste, check location, verify the approved unit and maintain an evidence chain.
Read MARPOL Annex VI regulation 16 with Annex V. Unit-specific and local port requirements also apply.
Your action sequence at a glance
Identify waste
Check place/prohibition
Verify unit procedure
Manage ash/records
MASTER • RESPONSIBLE OFFICER • COMPANY
Start with these 6 checks
- Identify waste type, origin and prohibited classes.
- Verify position and port/terminal restrictions.
- Check the approval/manual permits that waste.
- Complete training, alarms and prechecks under vessel procedures.
- Stop on deviation; segregate uncertain waste and escalate.
- Complete sludge/waste, ash and record/receipt chain.
Educational checklist. Completion is not operational/compliance approval; use the relevant vessel permits/forms separately.
Documents to have available
Select a document card for guidance. Obtain vessel-specific documents from authorised company/ship systems. A reference link is not a document download.
IMO approval and manual
Match the installed unit approval and manufacturer manual to its equipment identity.
Open topic references and guidance →Garbage Management Plan and GRB
Locate the controlled vessel Garbage Management Plan and relevant Garbage Record Book entries.
Open topic references and guidance →Sludge/ORB records
Gather ship sludge-operation records and related ORB entries by date and operation.
Open topic references and guidance →Port instructions and ash receipts
Confirm the relevant port instructions through the agent/company; retrieve ash receipts from ship files.
Open topic references and guidance →Open rules and technical detail
1 · Classify what will be burned
Regulation 16 prohibitions include Annex I/II/III cargo residues/contaminated packaging, PCBs, garbage with more than traces of heavy metals, halogen-containing refined petroleum products, sludge/sewage sludge not generated onboard and EGCS residues. PVC requires the relevant IMO type-approval conditions. Do not feed unidentified waste.
Reference: IMO — Shipboard incineration, regulation 16 ↗2 · Apply location restrictions precisely
Burning ship-generated sewage sludge/sludge oil in main/auxiliary power plant or boilers is prohibited within ports, harbours and estuaries. Do not misstate this as an identical blanket prohibition on every approved incinerator operation: independently verify local incinerator restrictions and permissions.
Reference: IMO — Shipboard incineration, regulation 16 ↗3 · Follow the exact unit procedure
Match type approval, manual, training and permitted waste classes. Obtain prechecks, ventilation, auxiliary fuel, temperature/feed permissions, alarms and cooling sequence from maker procedures. Never defeat interlocks. This page is not an ignition or maintenance instruction.
Reference: IMO — Shipboard incineration, regulation 16 ↗4 · Manage ash and records
Link incineration to appropriate Garbage Record Book/ORB entries. Do not assume ash/unburned residues may go overboard; follow waste-management and reception arrangements. Sludge quantities, tank changes and operation times must reconcile.
Reference: IMO — MARPOL Annex V, garbage and records ↗Scenarios and self-check
Onboard scenarios
Plastic waste, but PVC content is unknown.
Segregate and identify it; do not feed before checking approval.
Burning sludge in a boiler while in port.
Apply the regulation 16.4 restriction; do not operate that alternative. Also verify local instructions.
LEARNING CHECK
Think of your answer, then reveal the explanation
May EGCS residues be incinerated?
No; they are included in regulation 16 prohibitions.
Do all units share temperature/feed settings?
No. Follow applicable approval conditions and maker procedures.
Self-assessment only; no exam result, personnel record or competence certificate is generated.
Open official sources
Open the official sources
IMO — Shipboard incineration, regulation 16
IMO regulatory explanation
Open source ↗WWW.IMO.ORGIMO — MARPOL Annex V, garbage and records
IMO regulatory explanation
Open source ↗Legal instruments, explanatory guidance and operational bulletins have different roles. Check later amendments and consolidated texts where needed. Access and external documents remain under the publisher’s control.
Learning diagram and scope notes
Rules and bulletins may change. Before operation or voyage, verify the latest official source and ship-specific applicability. This page is not permission, certification or a real-time risk notice.