In the first half of 2015 Martin & Ottaway will be performing a study for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, “MAX1 Studies” (MARPOL Annex I Studies), that will address the following questions:
- How effective are shipboard Oily Water Separators?
- What can be done to further increase the effectiveness of shipboard oily waste management?
The intent of MAX1 is to establish the deepest possible industry cooperative framework and seeks partners and participants to address the wide ranging issues concerning OWS systems and machinery space waste stream management.
Despite the fact that there are many operators who are making headway with regard to environmental compliance, MARPOL Annex I violations continue to occur and the time has come to analyze existing data and to identify best practices and operational dead ends.
NFWF and M&O are reaching out to the marine industry to provide input and insights for this study and if you think you can contribute, please contact Hannah van Hemmen to join the team to improve machinery space waste stream management at a global level, or go directly to the project website and the sign up page.
Depending on your interest, involvement may consist of answering the MAX1 Survey planned for launch in March 2015, up to technical discussions and contributions, and attendance at the concluding MAX1 Conference that is planned for June 2015. This project fits within the QESTH (Quality, Environmental, Sustainability, Training and Health) framework and it is expected that solutions will not only benefit machinery space derived waste management and OWS systems (MARPOL Annex I, Chapter 3), but all shipboard QESTH components.
MAX1 will involve all stakeholders, such as regulatory organizations, ship’s crews, shipowners, ship operators, ship builders, OWS manufacturers, classification societies, registries, and maritime non-profits and organizations.
M&O has been involved on both sides of numerous OWS criminal investigations and is well aware of the sensitive nature of OWS operational practices and violations of MARPOL. For this study, as engineers, we have been specifically tasked by the USCG and NFWF to function as a neutral party that will provide confidentiality where requested.
