PSC deficiency code 14503: Garbage management plan
Area 14 Pollution prevention (MARPOL)
Code 14503 is about the written plan that tells the crew how garbage is handled on this ship: who is in charge, and how each kind of garbage is collected, separated, processed, stored and discharged. Handling in practice is 14501 Garbage, placards are 14502, and discharges go in the garbage record book. The inspector's doubt is whether the plan exists, fits the ship and is what the crew really follow.
What the inspector looks at
The plan is read first, then compared with the bins and storage areas on the walk round.
- a plan on board, following the IMO guidelines
- written in the working language of the crew
- a designated person in charge of the plan, normally by rank
- procedures for collecting, separating, processing, storing and discharging garbage, including use of the equipment
- equipment in the plan matching what is fitted: incinerator, comminutor, compactor
- bin positions and storage areas matching the ship
- crew awareness: who runs the plan, where a given item goes
Common findings
- Garbage management plan not on board
- Garbage management plan not in the working language of the crew
- Person in charge of carrying out the plan not designated
- Plan not ship specific; describes incinerator not fitted on board
- Segregation and storage on board differ from the plan
- Crew not familiar with the garbage management plan
The rule behind it
MARPOL Annex V, regulation 10.2, requires every ship of 100 gross tonnage and above, every ship certified to carry 15 or more persons, and fixed or floating platforms to carry a garbage management plan which the crew follow. It gives written procedures for minimizing, collecting, storing, processing and disposing of garbage, including the use of equipment on board, and names the person or persons in charge. It is based on IMO guidelines and written in the crew's working language. Those guidelines are the 2012 Guidelines for the development of garbage management plans (MEPC.220(63)); the 2017 implementation guidelines (MEPC.295(71)) explain the discharge rules the plan reflects.
Action codes you are likely to see
A gap fixed on board, such as naming the person in charge, is often 10 or 17. A generic plan that doesn't match the ship usually gets 17 or 16 while the office rewrites it. A plan nobody follows can bring an ISM finding with 18. The IMO list of detainable deficiencies names, under Annex V, the absence of a garbage management plan and personnel not familiar with the plan's disposal and discharge requirements, so either may be treated as a ground for detention (30). See action taken codes.
How to close it
The office usually drafts the plan and the master makes it fit the ship. Describe this ship's equipment, bins and storage, name the person in charge by rank and translate the plan if needed. Brief the crew and record the briefing. Keep the revised pages, the briefing record and photos of bins and storage with the Form B. If the plan was missing altogether, check how the company controls ship documents.