A summary of the decisions taken at the sixty-third session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 63) held from 27 February 2012 to 2 March 2012 is provided below for your information.

1. Mandatory requirements adopted
Key mandatory requirements adopted during this session are summarized below.
(1) Amendments to MARPOL Annexes relating to Small Islands Developing States (Attachment 1)
Amendments to MARPOL Annexes I, II, IV, V, and VI were adopted, aimed at enabling Small Islands Developing States*1 to comply with requirements regarding reception facilities for ship waste through regional arrangements.
The amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 August 2013.
Note*1: Refers to small island states in the Pacific, the West Indies, the Indian Ocean, and elsewhere that are considered to have difficulty in continuous development due to scarce population and resources.
(2) Amendments to NOx Technical Code enabling separate certification of SCR and diesel engine (Attachment 2)
MARPOL Annex VI requires ships with keels laid after 1 January 2016 to comply with the NOx Tier III regulations in the Emission Control Areas (ECA). Amendments were adopted to the NOx Technical Code permitting separate certification of the diesel engine and the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) System, a technology that makes it possible to comply with the above Tier III requirements.
The amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 August 2013.

(To be continued)