TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY NEWS No.

15/2023 – TECHNICAL

FOCUS FOR PSC: OILY WATER

SEPARATOR SAMPLING POINT
Relevant for ship owners and managers, shipyards, design offices, suppliers as well as flag states June 2023

The MEPC.107(49) requires a sampling point to be installed in a vertical section of the outlet
pipe as close as possible to the 15 ppm bilge separator outlet. There have been several cases
where ships have been detained for not complying with this requirement. This technical news
summarizes this topic.

Vertical section

Horizontal section

Acceptable Not acceptable

An oily water separator (OWS), bilge separator or oil filter-
ing equipment is required by MARPOL Annex I, Regulation
14 to be installed on any ship above 400 GT. The unit shall
be of a design approved by the administration and tested
and installed according to guidelines in MEPC.107(49) as
amended by MEPC.285(70).
For many OWSs, the effluent pipe is short before the 3-way
valve and only a small part is vertical, so for many installations
the sampling point is in the bend of the vertical section and
extracts the sample from the vertical section (see picture).
DNV considers this solution acceptable and in compliance
with the regulations.

In MEPC 107(49) Chapter 6.1.1, Installation Requirements, it Recommendations

states that “For future inspection purposes on board ship, a DNV recommends that ship owners or operators review the
sampling point should be provided in a vertical section of the insights provided in this newsletter and ensure that the OWS
water effluent piping as close as is practicable to the 15ppm sampling point is in a vertical position.
bilge separator outlet.”
References
The requirement to install the sampling point in a vertical • MARPOL Annex I, MEPC.107(49)
section of the effluent pipe is, according to DNV’s under-
• MARPOL Annex I – Prevention of Pollution by Oil (imo.org)
standing, to ensure that the sample is representative and
homogenous. If the sampling point is installed in a horizontal • MEPC 107 49 (imo.org)
section of the effluent pipe, there is a risk that the oil is float-
ing at the top and will not be part of the sample.

Although it may be demonstrated that sampling from a hori-

For customers:
zontal section of the water effluent piping will also result in a DATE – Direct Access to Technical Experts via My Services on Veracity.
representative sample, there is a risk that the PSC will none-
Otherwise:
theless object to sampling in a horizontal section given the Use our office locator to find the nearest office.
explicit requirement in MEPC.107(49) to have a sampling in a
vertical section.

DNV AS, Veritasveien 1, 1363 Høvik, Norway, Phone: +47 67 57 99 00, www.dnv.com/maritime DNV Disclaimer of Liability Page 1/1