MARPOL Annex I requires ships to bring SOPEP or Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan in case they

encounter oil spill while on shipboard. All the corrective measure can be found in SOPEP which will be
applied during this time. This consists of standards and requirements that the ships should follow.

When oil spill occurred, procedures such as reporting and actions to control discharge are to be
followed. In Reporting Procedure, is done by the master himself or by the designated crew member
present or on duty during the spillage and should be reported immediately once the discharge of oil
occur. It should be reported early so that the master and the crew may think or prepare what are
needed to be done and state the steps in controlling the discharge. During an Actual Discharge, the
master should report to the nearest coastal state in case there is a discharge of oil that may have come
from damage to the ship, damage to ship’s equipment, for safe of the crew on board and protection of
the life at sea, and if the discharge of oil exceed to the limit stated under the convention. While in
Probable Discharge, it is the master’s obligation to report even only one thing could have done or could
have probable oil spill occurrence. But it is still the decision of the Master as this things are probability
and even in doubt, the master should consider making reports because authorities should always be
inform during this cases. Also under in reporting is the Information requirements or required, This
requires the master to report any incidents of oil discharge, specifically initial report to the coastal states
so that appropriate actions may be done on time and should also take not of Resolution A. 851(20). In
case the incident develops, the master should also make a follow-up report that includes information to
the Coastal State Authorities in order for them to be informed. Coastal State are to be informed and to
be contacted but if they are not present, the master should reach out to the nearest coastal radio
stations or the designated ship movement reporting station and the nearest Rescue Co-Ordination
Center for Ships at sea. And for those ships in Port, they should notify local agencies or clean-up
companies if oil spillage while on port happened. Also, the ship should also have Port contacts to the
ports they usually serve and should also be regularly updated. In Ship Interest Contacts, the home office
of the ship’s owner or operator should be informed about the Master’s disposal in cases of an oil spill. It
is made to avoid duplicating of reports and to also organize the Plan.

During an Oil Spill, reporting isn’t the only thing that the member of the ship should do and provide but
also actions. If an oil spill occurred, the master is the responsible for taking initiatives on how to handle
the threat of discharge of oil into the waters. If the crew didn’t take actions it could potentially harm not
only the environment but also their health. Spill may come from different ways on and off board and
one of it is Operational Spills. To prevent operational Spills, the crew members should maintain a close
watch for any escape or leakage of oil during bunker operations. And before bunker handling starts, all
scuppers and drains should be tightly plug and any oil floating should be removed before draining. To
avoid overflow, bunker tanks should be frequently monitored and for slight leakage, a drop tray should
be placed underneath to catch the oil and not mix with the water. Another is Pipeline Leakage, the
process or the operation should be stopped immediately up until the problem is solved. The cause could
be defective pipe sections which should be isolated and the affected sections should be drained to a
slack tank. If it occurs in the hydraulic pipelines, the operations should be stopped immediately also
because it can result to fire. The removed bunker oil should be retained on board until it can be
discharge on port reception facility and inform all parties about pipeline leakage and actions that the
ship have taken. Tank Overflow, if the tank overflows then the operations should be stopped right away
and should not be redo unless the problem has been solved and all the hazards have been removed and
should immediately begin the clean-up procedure. This is done to avoid excessive flow that can cause
larger problems. In Hull Leakage, since it is submerged, diver is consider here to identify the leaking in
the hull but if it is not possible, reducing level In all tanks may be considered but stress and stability of
hull should also be considered. Spills also comes from equipment in Machinery Spaces such as Oily-
water separating equipment or oil filtering equipment, Cooling pipes in oil cooler systems, Gearing of
bow thrusters, Stern tubes. If equipment in machinery spaces fails, the operations should be stopped
immediately to avoid an oil spill.

Spills may also result to casualties if it is not treated right away. Ship’s master should always ensure
safety of the ship’s crew and to also initiate actions which may prevent escalation of the incident and
marine Pollution. In Ships Grounded or stranded, the master’s priority should be to ensure that he as
soon as possible receives all the information about the damage that the ship has been sustained, to
determine remedial actions to be taken for ensuring the safety of the ship and its crew. This includes
considerations that master should consider and take into account. Also, prevention of fire and
explosion is included is being stranded may poses threat to its personnel. Due to being stranded it may
also lead to some damage specifically to Hull and damage to containment systems. There are also
procedures to Reduce or Stop Overflow of oil where the master should assess about the possibility that
it can bring to the environment. This is to ensure that the environment will not be damage to much or
produce less damage. Refloating by own means determines if the ship can operate and refloat again.
But, there are things to be determined before doing so especially if it has damages that may result for
the ship to sink and its main components such as propellers are damaged. Also, If the damage that the
ship attain on being grounded the master should consider on securing the ship and wait for assistance of
the professionals in order for the ship not to take other risks.

3.7
Each crews has their own responsibilities as the Master is the Over-all in charge of SOPEP and he
ensures the plan is being followed and the crew members are complying with it. Chief Officer is in-
charge of operations on deck and keeps the Master informed of the actions and results. Chief Engineer
in-charge of operations in engine room he informs the Master on action taken and their results and also
he is in charge of the bunkering operations. The Deck Duty Officer is to assist in the works of the chief
officer; mobilize off duty crew and inform Chief Officer/ Chief Engineer in event of an oil spill. Duty
engineer is responsible for assisting the chief engineer on watch, Organize on board clean-up
equipment, maintain full operational status, and ensure power and water supply to the deck. In
addition, he also assists in oil transfer operation, preparation of SOPEP material, and firefighting. And
lastly, Duty Rating is the one who alert and notify concerned duty officer or engineer in event of oil
leakage. Prepares clean-up material and take part in clean up and firefighting duties.

2.