What did MEPC 84 (April 2026) agree to do regarding the carriage of plastic pellets by sea?

A. Ban plastic pellet carriage entirely from 2027

B. Develop a mandatory code governing plastic pellet carriage, under MARPOL Annex III and/or SOLAS

C. Leave the existing voluntary guidance unchanged indefinitely

D. Delegate the entire matter to individual flag states with no IMO involvement

A. All plastics must be retained on board for discharge to a port reception facility — discharge of plastics into the sea is prohibited under all circumstances

B. Plastics may be burned in the incinerator and the ash discharged overboard

C. Plastics can be discharged if ground down to less than 25mm

D. They may be discharged overboard once the vessel is more than 12nm from the nearest land

A. Only the engineer needs to be present; deck crew are not involved

B. SOPEP equipment only needs to be available if bunkering more than 50% of capacity

C. Nothing specific — bunkering is routine and does not need pre-checks

D. A pre-bunkering checklist completed (hose connections, drip trays, communication with the barge/terminal, spill response equipment ready and accessible), a dedicated watch maintained throughout, and SOPEP equipment immediately available