Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act
(Chapter 243, Section 34)
Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Garbage) Regulations
Rg 7
G.N. No. S 363/1999

REVISED EDITION 2001
(31st May 2001)
[27th August 1999]
Citation
1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Garbage) Regulations.
Definitions
2.—(1)  In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —
“from the nearest land” means —
(a)in relation to all land other than the part of Australia referred to in paragraph (b), from the baseline from which the territorial sea of the territory in question is established in accordance with international law; or
(b)in relation to the part of the north-eastern coast of Australia which lies between the points 11º 00’S, 142º 08’E and 24º 42’S, 153º 15’E, from the nearest of the straight lines joining consecutively the following points:
 11º 00’S, 142º 08’E; 10º 35’S, 141º 55’E; 10º 00’S, 142º 00’E; 9º 10’S, 143º 52’E; 9º 00’S, 144º 30’E; 13º 00’S, 144º 00’E; 15º 00’S, 146º 00’E; 18º 00’S, 147º 00’E; 21º 00’S, 153º 00’E and 24º 42’S, 153º 15’E;
“installation” means any drilling or production platform or any other platform used in connection with the exploration, exploitation or associated offshore processing of seabed mineral resources;
“Organisation” means the International Maritime Organisation;
“required standard”, in relation to ground or comminuted garbage, means ground or comminuted sufficiently finely to be capable of passing through a screen with openings no greater than 25 millimetres.
(2)  For the purposes of these Regulations, “Special Area” means the Mediterranean Sea area, the Baltic Sea area, the Black Sea area, the Red Sea area, the Gulfs area, the North Sea area, the Antarctic area or the Wider Caribbean Region, which are respectively defined as follows:
(a)“the Mediterranean Sea area” means the Mediterranean Sea proper including the gulfs and sea therein with the boundary between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea constituted by the 41º N parallel and bounded to the west by the Straits of Gibraltar at the meridian 5º 36’W;
(b)“the Baltic Sea area” means the Baltic Sea proper with the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland and the entrance to the Baltic Sea bounded by the parallel of the Skaw in the Skagerrak at 57º 44.8’N;
(c)“the Black Sea area” means the Black Sea proper with the boundary between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea constituted by the parallel 41º N;
(d)“the Red Sea area” means the Red Sea proper including the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba bounded at the south by the rhumb line between Ras si Ane (12º 28.5’N, 43º 19.6’E) and Husn Murad (12º 40.4’N, 43º 30.2’E);
(e)“the Gulfs area” means the sea area located north-west of the rhumb line between Ras al Hadd (22º 30’N, 59º 48’E) and Ras al Fasteh (25º 04’N, 61º 25’E);
(f)“the North Sea area” means the North Sea proper including seas therein with the boundary between:
(i)the North Sea southwards of latitude 62ºN and eastwards of longitude 4ºW;
(ii)the Skagerrak, the southern limit of which is determined east of the Skaw by latitude 57º 44.8’N; and
(iii)the English Channel and its approaches eastwards of longitude 5°W and northwards of latitude 48º 30’N;
(g)“the Antarctic area” means the sea area south of latitude 60ºS;
(h)“the Wider Caribbean Region” means the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea proper including the bays and seas therein and that portion of the Atlantic Ocean within the boundary constituted by the 30ºN parallel from Florida eastward to 77º 30’W meridian, thence a rhumb line to the intersection of 20ºN parallel and 59ºW meridian, thence a rhumb line to the intersection of 7º 20’N parallel and 50ºW meridian, thence a rhumb line drawn south-westerly to the eastern boundary of French Guiana.
Application
3.  These Regulations shall apply to —
(a)Singapore ships wherever they may be; and
(b)other ships while they are in Singapore waters.
Disposal of garbage outside Special Areas
4.—(1)  The disposal of any plastics from a ship outside any Special Area is prohibited.
(2)  Subject to regulation 6, the disposal of any garbage other than plastics from a ship into the sea outside any Special Area is prohibited except where it is made as far from the nearest land as is practicable, and —
(a)in the case of dunnage, lining and packing materials which will float, not less than 25 nautical miles from the nearest land; or
(b)in the case of food wastes and all other garbage including paper products, rags, glass, metal, bottles, crockery and similar refuse, not less than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land or, if such wastes and other garbage have been ground or comminuted to the required standard, not less than 3 nautical miles from the nearest land.
(3)  Where the garbage is mixed with other discharges having different disposal or discharge requirements under Annex I, II or III to the Convention, the more stringent requirements shall apply.
Disposal of garbage within Special Areas
5.—(1)  Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the disposal of any garbage from a ship into the sea within any Special Area is prohibited.
(2)  Food wastes may be disposed from a ship into the sea within any Special Area other than the Antarctic area and the Wider Carribbean Region if, and only if, the disposal is made as far as practicable, and in any case not less than 12 nautical miles, from the nearest land.
(3)  Food wastes may be disposed from a ship into the sea within the Wider Carribbean Region if, and only if —
(a)the food wastes have been ground or comminuted to the required standard; and
(b)the disposal is made as far as practicable, and in any case not less than 3 nautical miles, from the nearest land.
(4)  Where the garbage is mixed with other discharges having different disposal or discharge requirements under Annex I, II or III to the Convention, the more stringent requirements shall apply.
(5)  This regulation is subject to regulation 6.
Disposal of garbage from fixed or floating installation
6.—(1)  Subject to paragraph (2), the disposal of any garbage into the sea from a fixed or floating installation, or from any other ship alongside or within 500 metres of such an installation, is prohibited.
(2)  Food wastes may be disposed of into the sea from a fixed or floating installation or ship if, and only if —
(a)the food wastes have been ground or comminuted to the required standard; and
(b)the installation in question is located more than 12 nautical miles from the nearest land.
Restriction on Singapore ships entering Antarctic area
7.  A Singapore ship shall not enter the Antarctic area unless —
(a)it has sufficient capacity for the retention on board of all garbage while operating in the area; and
(b)it has concluded arrangements for the discharge of retained garbage at a reception facility after it has left the area.
Placards
8.—(1)  Every ship of 12 metres or more in overall length shall display placards which notify the crew and passengers, if any, of the disposal requirements under regulations 4, 5 and 6, as applicable.
(2)  In the case of a Singapore ship, the information on the placards shall be written in English and, where the working language of the crew is not English, in the working language.
(3)  In the case of a ship which is not a Singapore ship, the information on the placards shall be written in the official language of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly and, where the ship is engaged on a voyage to a port or offshore terminal under the jurisdiction of a Party to the Convention, in English or French.
Garbage management plan
9.—(1)  Every ship —
(a)of 400 tons gross tonnage or above; or
(b)which is certified to carry 15 persons or more,
shall carry a garbage management plan which shall —
(i)provide written procedures for collecting, storing, processing and disposing of garbage, including the use of equipment on board;
(ii)designate the person in charge of carrying out the plan;
(iii)be in accordance with the guidelines for the development of garbage management plans adopted by the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the Organisation by resolution MEPC.70(38), as amended or revised from time to time; and
(iv)be in the following languages:
(A)in the case of a Singapore ship, English and the working language of the crew if it is not English; or
(B)in the case of a ship which is not a Singapore ship, the working language of the crew.
(2)  The crew of a ship which is required to carry a garbage management plan under this regulation shall follow that plan.
Garbage record book
10.—(1)  Subject to paragraph (9), each of the following ships, namely —
(a)a ship of 400 tons gross tonnage or above;
(b)a ship certified to carry 15 persons or more which is engaged on a voyage to a port or offshore terminal under the jurisdiction of a Party to the Convention other than its flag State;
(c)a fixed or floating installation,
shall carry a garbage record book, whether as a part of its official log book or otherwise, in the form specified in the First Schedule.
(2)  On the date of any discharge or incineration of garbage from such a ship, the officer in charge of the discharge operation or incineration shall make and sign for an entry in the garbage record book of the ship in respect of the discharge or incineration.
(3)  An entry in the garbage record book shall include —
(a)the date and time of the discharge or incineration;
(b)the position of the ship at the time of the discharge or incineration; and
(c)a description of, and the estimated amount of, the garbage discharged or incinerated.
(4)  If a discharge, escape or accidental loss within the meaning of regulation 11 (2) occurs, an entry shall be made in the relevant garbage record book of the circumstances of and the reasons for the discharge, escape or accidental loss.
(5)  An entry in a garbage record book shall —
(a)in the case of a Singapore ship, be in English; or
(b)in the case of a ship which is not a Singapore ship, be in an official language of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly and in English or French.
(6)  For the purposes of paragraph (5) (b), the official language of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly shall prevail in the event of a discrepancy between the different language entries.
(7)  Each completed page of a garbage record book shall be signed by the master of the ship concerned.
(8)  A garbage record book shall —
(a)be kept on board the ship concerned and in such a place as to be available for inspection at a reasonable time; and
(b)be preserved for a period of 2 years after the final entry is made on it.
(9)  The Director may waive the requirement for a garbage record book in respect of —
(a)any ship certified to carry 15 persons or more which is engaged on a voyage of one hour or less in duration; or
(b)any fixed or floating installation.
Offences
11.—(1)  A contravention of any of the provisions of these Regulations shall be an offence on the part of the owner, manager, agent, charterer and master of the ship at the time of the offence, each of whom shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
(2)  In any proceedings under this regulation in respect of a contravention of regulation 4, 5 or 6, it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove —
(a)that the disposal of garbage was necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of the ship or those on board, or of saving life at sea;
(b)that the escape of garbage resulted from damage to a ship or its equipment and that all reasonable precautions were taken before and after the damage occurred to prevent or minimise the escape; or
(c)in the case of the disposal of synthetic fishing nets, that the disposal was an accidental loss and that all reasonable precautions were taken to prevent the loss.
Fees
12.  The fees specified in the Second Schedule shall be payable to the Director.
[G.N. No. S 363/99]