What is a Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP)?
When an oil spill occurs at sea, the oil spreads on the surface of the seawater, causing fatal effects on marine mammals, birds, coastlines, and most importantly, the ocean and environment.
The cost of oil spill cleanup depends on the quantity and quality of oil spilled into the sea and is calculated in terms of factors such as legal claims, fines, oil loss, repairs and cleanup, and most importantly – the loss of marine life and the impact on human health which cannot be measured in any quantity.
Since prevention is better than cure, almost all cruise ships and cargo ships implement a prevention plan to avoid economic losses, marine pollution, and loss of marine species. This plan is called SOPEP or Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan.
The Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) is a prevention plan implemented on almost all cruise and cargo ships. In this plan, you will get an overview of the possible actions to be taken in case of an oil spill. Also mentioned in the plan is who you should contact (list of authorities, oil cleanup team, port state control) and how to report this incident to the nearest coast guard.
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Understanding SOPEP
As mentioned earlier, SOPEP stands for Ship’s Oil Pollution Emergency Plan. As required by Annex I of MARPOL 73/78, all ships of 400 gross tonnage and above must carry an Oil Pollution Emergency Plan by the standards and guidelines set by IMO under the MEPC Code (Marine Environment Protection Committee).
Under the provisions of SOPEP, the gross tonnage requirement for oil tankers is reduced to 150, as the oil itself is a cargo that doubles the risk of oil pollution.
The Master is the overall SOPEP officer of the ship, and the Chief Officer, as a subordinate, is responsible for implementing SOPEP on board. SOPEP also describes the plans for the Master, officers, and crew to deal with various oil spill scenarios on board. For oil tankers, the operational plans extend to handling cargoes and cargo holds containing large amounts of oil.
Purpose of the Plan
Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (“SOPEP”) should be considered information provided to the Master by the owner of a particular ship.
You must advise the Master on how to act during an oil spill to prevent or at least mitigate the negative impact on the environment.
The plan contains the operational aspects of different oil spill scenarios and lists the contact information to be used in the event of such an incident.
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Legal background
1. It is mandatory for ships of 400 gross tonnage and above (tankers of 150 gross tonnage and above) to carry an oil pollution emergency plan.
2. The required content is detailed in Regulation 1.26 of Annex I of MARPOL.
3. IMO has published the Guidelines for preparing Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plans under MEPC. 54 (32) 1992 as amended by MEPC.86 (44) 2000.
4. The SOPEP is an integral part of the IOPP certification. Its existence is verified in the Appendix to the IOPP certificate.
5. In any case, the SOPEP must be approved by the country’s competent authority whose flag the ship is currently flying or by the classification society representing that flag.
Scope
The plan generally consists of 4 parts, containing the mandatory content and annexes containing additional information such as contact addresses and data, as well as a set of specific drawings for the master’s convenience.
The sample SOPEP plan provided is prepared as a general guide on how to write such a plan according to the new IMO guidelines revised in March 2000. It should be considered how the content should be written to meet the requirements
Individual SOPEPs must be prepared according to the “Table of Contents/Chapter Index” of the sample.
They must be carefully designed to suit the specific ship, company procedures, and policies. Specific instructions should be combined according to the ship type, purpose, and company requirements.
Particularly for oil tankers, procedures for cargo holds and cargo loading and unloading should be included in the instructions.
The plan’s content must be fully consistent with the instructions provided by the company within the ISM.
Contents of SOPEP
The SOPEP contains the following:
- The action plan contains the responsibilities of each crew member in the event of a spill, including emergency musters and procedures.
- The SOPEP contains general information about the ship, shipowners, etc.
- The steps and procedures required to control the discharge of oil into the sea using the SOPEP equipment.
- The onboard reporting procedures and requirements during an oil spill are described.
- The contact agencies and reporting requirements in the event of an oil spill are listed in the SOPEP. Ports and other competent authorities
- The SOPEP also includes the vessel’s general layout, including all tanks’ locations, capacity, contents, etc.
SOPEP locker locations and locker contents and inventory.
The ship’s oil pollution plan contains the following:
- An action plan includes instructions for the oil pollution prevention team. This is a list of duties that the crew must complete in the event of an oil spill.
- Emergency plan.
- General information about the ship.
- Procedures for discharging oil into the sea by MARPOL standards
- Fuel/oil line diagrams.
- SOPEP locker locations.
- The plan must be prepared per IMO regulations.
Additional entries
According to MARPOL regulations, the following annexes must be added to the SOPEP:
- Coastal State Contact Details (published annually but updated online quarterly by the IMO).
- A blank form containing a list of port contact addresses that the master must keep updated.
- “Plan Writer’s Notes” can be found on several pages to guide the user, where at least the sample text should be modified.
- List of key vessel contacts (contact details including a 24-hour telephone number for owners/managers, charterers, insurance, P&I clubs, etc.).
