• Focus on reviewing regulations on plastic pellets began following X-Press Pearl disaster
• IMO recommendations on best practices about plastic pellets adopted by MEPC 83 in April

A new set of guidelines developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) about the safe packaging and carriage of consignments of plastic pellets has been adopted by the European Union (EU) as a mandatory practice for shipping within the regional organisation, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told The Sunday Morning last week.

According to Dominguez, the IMO had begun developing the new set of guidelines following the Singapore-flagged MV X-Press Pearl shipwreck disaster in May 2021, which caught ablaze and sank in the Colombo anchorage, spilling hundreds of tonnes of plastic pellets (nurdles) and toxic chemicals into the coastal waters of Sri Lanka. 

The disaster, the largest of its kind in Sri Lankan history, has been called the worst marine environmental disaster in Sri Lanka by some experts, and its impact on the marine and coastal ecosystem remains an ongoing assessment.

Addressing a press conference at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) held in Nice, France, the IMO Secretary-General, responding to a question by The Sunday Morning about what could be done to improve safety in transport of plastics in the aftermath of the MV X-Press Pearl incident, stated: “We already have the MARPOL convention about the prevention of disposal of plastics at sea. When it comes to that specific example, we already have traffic separation systems in place to ensure the safe navigation of ships.

“One of your recent incidents was related to plastic pellets and we have already developed a new set of guidelines on the packaging and the management of plastic cargo and their clean-up. As soon as we issued the new regulations, they were adopted by the EU, which is turning them into mandatory regulations. In parallel, we are working to introduce mandatory regulations on plastic pellet transport.”

Dominguez added that the MV X-Press Pearl incident was what had initiated their review into existing legislation, adding that the IMO was now studying the available legal instruments to make the recommendations mandatory.

Accordingly, in March 2024, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) approved MEPC.1 Circular 909 – ‘Recommendations for the carriage of plastic pellets by sea in freight containers’ – which includes how plastic pellets should be packed and the quality of the packaging, which should be strong enough to withstand the shocks and loadings normally encountered during transport. 

It governs how the packaging should be constructed and closed to prevent any loss of contents and how transport information should clearly identify those freight containers containing plastic pellets. The shipper should supplement the cargo information with a special stowage request for proper stowage. 

It also includes recommendations on how freight containers containing plastic pellets should be properly stowed and secured to minimise hazards to the marine environment without impairing the safety of the ship and persons on board. Specifically, they should be stowed under deck wherever reasonably practicable, or inboard in sheltered areas of exposed decks.

Further, IMO Member States, meeting at MEPC 82 in October 2024, approved the guidelines on good practice relating to the clean-up of plastic pellets from ship-source releases. These guidelines provide practical guidance for government authorities on issues such as contingency planning, response, post-spill monitoring and analysis, and intervention and cost recovery.

The MV X-Press Pearl, a 185-metre-long Singaporean-flagged container vessel, was en route from Hazira Port in India on 15 May 2021 to Colombo with 1,486 containers on board, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, a large volume of plastic nurdles, and several other chemicals, when it issued a distress call while in anchorage 9.5 nautical miles northwest of the Colombo Harbour. 

The ill-fated vessel sank by the stern in the anchorage following a multinational effort to douse the blaze and get it under control.