The purpose of this Law is to prevent marine pollution and maritime disaster by controlling the discharge into the ocean of oil, noxious liquid substances and others and wastes from ships, offshore facilities and aircraft and the incineration of oil, noxious liquid substances and others and wastes on a ship and at off-shore facility, by securing appropriate disposal of waste oil and by taking measures for the removal of the discharged oil, noxious liquid substances and others, wastes and other substance, the prevention of occurrence and spread of fire at sea and the prevention of danger to shipping traffic incidental to such fire and the line at sea and by securing appropriate enforcement of international convention on the prevention of marine pollution and maritime disaster, thereby contributing to the preservation of the marine environment and the protection of people's lives and body as well as their property.

　

Every person shall exert himself not to pollute the ocean by the discharge of oil, noxious liquid substances and others or wastes and by other acts.

2. The master or owner of the ship or the manager or owner of the off-shore facility or off-shore dangerous substance control facility or other persons concerned shall always take precautions against discharge of oil, noxious liquid substances, etc. or dangerous objects, or against a fire at sea so that he can take measures to control the discharged oil, noxious liquid substances, etc., or to fight the fire and prevent the spread of the fire, and shall endeavor to prevent marine pollution and maritime disaster by properly implementing the measures in case of such emergency.

　

For the purpose of this Law, the meaning of the expressions mentioned in each of the following items shall be as defined in the respective items:

　

No person may discharge oil from a ship in sea areas. However, this shall not apply to the discharge of oil which falls under any of the following items;

2. The provision of the principal clause of the preceding paragraph shall not apply to the discharge of bilge and the other oil (excluding tanker's water ballast, tank washing water and bilge from tanker (hereafter referred to as "water ballast, etc. ") containing cargo oil, referred to as "bilge, etc." in the Paragraph 1 of the following Article) made in accordance with the criteria on the oil content of the discharged oil (specified oil prescribed by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance under the Paragraph 2 of the preceding Article; hereafter the same shall apply), discharge sea area and discharge method as provided by the Cabinet Order.

3. The provision of the principal clause of the Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the discharge of water ballast, etc. containing cargo oil from a tanker z made in accordance with the criteria on the total quantity of oil content, the instantaneous rate of discharge (meaning the rate of discharge of oil in liters per hour at any instant divided by the speed of the ship in knots at the same instant: hereafter the same), the discharge sea area and the discharge method as provided by the Cabinet Order.

4. The provision of the principal clause of the Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the discharge of oil from a ship for the purpose of examination, research or investigation concerning the prevention of marine pollution made under the advance approval of the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard, as provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

5. A condition may be attached to the approval under the preceding paragraph or the appoval may be altered to the extent as may be necessary for the prevention of marine pollution.

　

The owner of a ship (the ship's husband, in case of co-ownership of the ship; the lessee of a ship, in case of a lease of the ship: hereafter the same shall apply) shall provide on board the ship (excluding ships which produce no bilge) bilge spill prevention device (equipment for preventing oil on board from going into the bottom of the ship or for storage or disposal of bilge, etc. on board: the same shall apply in the Paragraph 4).

2. In addition to those prescribed in the preceding paragraph, a tanker shall be equipped with water ballast spill prevention device (equipments for storage or disposal, on board, of water ballast, etc. containing cargo oil; the same shall apply in the Paragraph 4).

3. In addition to those prescribed in the preceding two paragraphs, a tanker specified by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance shall be equipped with segregated ballast tank (a tank perfectly segregated from cargo tank (which is limited for the use of LITing liquid cargo in bulk) and fuel tank and permanently installed for carriage of water ballast; hereafter the same shall apply) or crude oil washing system (equipments for washing cargo tank by crude oil; the same shall apply in following paragraph).

4. The technical standards concerning the installments of bilge spill prevention device, water ballast spill prevention device, segregated ballast tank and crude oil washing system prescribed in the preceding three paragraphs shall be provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

A cargo tank of a tanker and a segregated ballast tank, which is to be equipped according to the provision of the Paragraph 3 of the preceding Article, shall comply with the technical standards as provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance for the prevention of oil spill in large quantity in case where a ship is damaged by collision, stranding or by the other causes.

　

Oil shall not be carried in a tank forward of the collision bulkhead. This shall not apply to a ship of a gross tonnage less than that provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

2. Water ballast shall not be carried in a cargo tank of a tanker which is equipped with segregated ballast tank in accordance with the provision of the Paragraph 3 of Article 5 or in a fuel tank of a ship of a gross tonnage specified by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance or more. However, this shall not apply to cases where it is unavoidable to do so for the safety of a ship under a severe weather conditions or to the other cases as provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

　

The discharge of water ballast from a segregated ballast tank equipped in a tanker shall comply with the method provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

　

The owner of a ship shall, for each ship prescribed by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance, appoint an oil pollution supervisor out of the officers on board the ship to have him assist the master (or the person who shall act for the master; hereafter the same) in supervising the business concerning the prevention of improper discharge of oil from the ship.

2. The oil pollution supervisor shall be a person who has the experience and other requinements of handling oil prescribed by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

　

The owner of a ship shall, for each ship prescribed by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance lay down a Manual for the Prevention of Oil Pollution in accordance with the Ministry of LIT Ordinance with respect to the matters concerning the supervision of business on the prevention of improper oil discharge and other matters concerning the prevention of improper oil discharge, such as matters to be observed by persons in charge of the handling of oil (excluding the matters provided by Paragraph 1 of the succeeding Article) and keep or display it on board the ship.

2. The oil pollution supervisor (the master of the ship in the case of a ship in which oil pollution supervisor has not been appointed, hereafter the same shall apply) shall make the items prescribed in the manual for the prevention of oil pollution known to the crews of the ship and the other persons other than the crews who carry out the opertations of handling oil among those who are engaged in the works concerning the ship.

　

The owner of a ship shall, for each ship provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance, make a Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan describing matters concerting measures to be taken immediately by those on board the ship when improper discharge of oil occurred or when there is a danger that such discharge will occur and keep or display it on board the ship.

2. The technical standards concerning the compilation and keeping or display of the Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan provided by the preceding Paragraph shall be provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

3. Provision of Paragraph 2 of the preceding Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to a Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan provided by Paragraph 1 (referred to as "Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan" in Chapter III-2).

　

The master of a ship (the owner of the ship in case of a ship navigating exclusively under tow or pushed by other ship (hereafter referred to as "towed ship, etc. ") ; the same shall apply in the following Paragraph and Paragraph 3)shall provide an oil record book on board the ship, etc. (at the office of the owner of a ship who administers the ship concerned, in case of a towed ship etc.; the same shall apply in the Paragraph 3). However, this shall not apply to ships other than tankers which produce no bilge.

2. The oil pollution supervisor shall, every time the discharge of oil or any other operation concerning handling of oil on board as provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordiance takes place, enter such events in the oil record book in accordance with the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

3. The master of a ship shall keep the oil record book on board for three years from the day when the last entry was made.

4. In addition to those prescribed in the preceding three Paragraphs, necessary matters concerning the oil record book such as the form of the oil record book shall be provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

　

The provisions of the Paragraph 1 of Article 5, Article 5-3 and Article 6 to the preceding Article shall not apply to ships of less than 100 gross tons other than tankers.

2. The provisions of the Paragraph 3 of Article 5 and Article 5-2 (the part concerning the segregated ballast tank) shall not apply to a ship with a cargo tank, a part of which has a structure for the carriage of liquid cargo in bulk, and is prescribed in the item (9) of Article 3.

3. The provisions of Article 6 and Article 7 shall not apply to ships other than Japanese ships (meaning Japanese ships provided in Article 1 of the Ship Law (Law No. 46 of 1899) hereafter the same shall apply ;) (hereafter referred to as "foreign ships".)

　

　

No person may discharge noxious liquid substances from a ship in sea areas. However, this shall not apply to the discharge of noxious liquid substances which fall under any of the following items :

2. The provision of the principal clause of the preceding paragraph shall not apply to the discharge of water ballast, which was washed in accordance with the criteria of cleansing method provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance, in a cargo tank (including the equipment for discharge of water ballast) used for carriage of noxious liquid substances provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

3. The provision of the principal clause of the Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the discharge of noxious liquid substances from a ship (excluding the discharge of water ballast in accordance with the provision of the preceding paragraph) made in accordance with the criteria on the method of advance treatment, discharge sea areas and the procedures for discharge as provided by the Cabinet Order.

4. In a case where a noxious liquid substance is discharged under the preceding paragraph, if the noxious liquid substance is that prescribed by the Cabinet Order as the noxious liquid substance to the discharge of which it is necessary to pay special attention in view of marine environment protection; a person who intends to discharge the noxious liquid substance from a ship shall obtain confirmation that the advance treatment to be done by the person is in accordance with the criteria as provided by the Cabinet Order from the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard or the agent designated by the Commandant of the Japan Coast Guard(hereafter referred to as "the designated confirmation agent" ) (When the advance treatment is to be done in a foreign country which is a party to the Protocol of 1978 relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (hereafter referred to as " the Protocol " and "party to the Procol") the agent appointed or designated by the goverment of the party to the Protocol). However, this shall not apply to a case where the advance treatment is to be done in a foreign country other than parties to the Protocol.

5. The confirmation under the preceding paragraph shall be made upon the application of the person who intends to obtain the confirmation under the paragraph.

6. Other than those prescribed in the preceding two paragraphs, the application from of confirmation, delivery of confirmation certificate and other matters necessay for confirmation shall be prescribed by Ministry of LIT Ordinace.

　

The owner of a ship carrying noxious liquid substances provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance shall provide on board the ship equipment for storage or disposal of noxious liquid substances in the ship and other equipment for preventing marine pollution by the discharge of noxious liquid substances (hereafter referred to as "noxious liquid substances discharge prevention devices" in the follwing paragraph).

2. The technical standards concerning the installment of noxious liquid substances discharge prevention devices prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

3. A cargo tank of a ship which carries the noxious liquid substances provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance shall be installed complying with the technical standards as provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance for the preventing discharge of noxious liquid substances in large quantity in case where the ship was damaged or involved in other accidents due to collision, stranding or other causes.

Omitted

　

The master of a ship carrying noxious liquid substances (in case of a towed ship, etc., owner of the ship; the same shall apply to Paragraph 3) shall keep a noxious liquid substance record book on board the ship (in case of a towed ship, etc., in the office of the owner of the ship who manages the ship; the same shall apply to Paragraph 3).

2. Omitted

3. The master of a ship shall keep the noxious liquid substance record book on board for three years from the day when the last entry was made.

4. In addition to those presecribed in the preceding three paragraphs, necessary matters concerning the noxious liquid substance record book such as its form shall be provided by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

　

Paragraph 1 of Article 9-2 shall mutatis mutandis apply to non-evaluation noxious liquid substances.

2. A person who intends to carry non-evalution substances by ship shall report to that effect to the Minister of LIT in advance as prescribed by the Ministry of LIT Ordinance.

3. The Minister of LIT shall, when be was reported under the preceding paragraph, give notice to the Minister of LIT to that effect. The Minister of LIT shall make evaluation as early as possible whether the reported non-evaluation liquid substances are noxious or not in view of marine environment protection.

　

No person may discharge wastes from a ship in sea areas. However, this shall not apply to the discharge of wastes that falls under any of the following items :

2. The provision of the principal clause of the preceding Paragraph shall not apply to the discharge of wastes which falls under any of the following items :