Guidance

Marine pollution (MARPOL) annex II surveyors

Guidance concerning the international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL) surveyors

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MARPOL Annex II Surveyors

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78) Annex II, Regulation 16 requires the government of each party within the Convention to appoint or authorise surveyors for the purposes of exercising control procedures developed by the International Maritime Organisation. The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution from Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk) Regulations 2018 (Statutory Instrument (S.I.) 2018/68, as amended by S.I. 2020/496 and S.I. 2021/818) implements Annex II of MARPOL.

Duties of a MARPOL surveyor

A MARPOL surveyor will only attend if required by a ship owner or his agent. The duties of a MARPOL surveyor are briefly:

  • To attend the completion of the unloading of all category X substances and verify that the pre-wash has been conducted.

  • To attend where the unloading of category Y and Z substances cannot be carried out in accordance with the ship鈥檚 procedures and arrangements manual.

  • To attend vessels, such as 鈥渙ffshore supply vessels,鈥 and verify that cargo tanks which have contained noxious liquid substances of pollution category X, Y or Z have been cleaned and the residues and washings have been put ashore to port waste reception facilities in accordance with the procedures and arrangements manual.

  • To exempt ships from the requirements of Regulation 13.4 of MARPOL ANNEX II, exemption for a 鈥減re-wash鈥, as required. If the pre-wash requirements cannot be met at the discharge port, but will be carried out at the next port, it is to confirmed in writing that a reception facility at the other port is available and is adequate for such purpose.

  • To endorse each ship鈥檚 Cargo NLS record book accordingly.

  • To provide prompt and accurate returns, using the returns form and including nil returns, every six months.

Surveyor operations

When attending a vessel the MARPOL surveyor should be supervised at all times by a responsible ships officer who is involved in cargo operations. The responsible ships officer should be present when any cargo sampling is carried out. He should be fully conversant with all aspects of the ship鈥檚 sampling system including the operational characteristics of the valves.

The responsible ships officer should be satisfied that the sampling equipment is compatible with the ship鈥檚 sampling points before starting any sampling.

The surveyor should only take samples from a designated sample point, as indicated by the ships officer. The sampling operations are to be conducted in a safe and efficient manner which will preclude any escape of cargo liquid or vapours to the atmosphere or the deck of the ship beyond that required by the sampling process. Any spillage is to be cleaned up immediately.

The Surveyor should not be left unattended whilst taking samples.

Fees for undertaking MARPOL surveyor duties

MARPOL surveyors may charge for their services. The amount of any charges should be fixed by agreement between the ship鈥檚 master and surveyor.

Annual registration of MARPOL surveyors

MARPOL surveyors must re-register with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) every year in order for the authorisation to remain valid. It is the responsibility of the employing company to make sure that details of all authorised MARPOL surveyors are sent to the MCA in the period from 1st to 31st October of each year. Failure to do so will result in the removal of the company and associated surveyors from the list of authorised MARPOL surveyors. Re-registration should be undertaken using the .

Updating MARPOL surveyors information

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency should be informed, at the address given at the bottom of this note, of any changes to the MARPOL surveyor list. This includes changes:

  • to the primary contact,
  • company address details or
  • the addition or
  • loss of MARPOL surveyors to the company listed.

Companies should not wait until the annual re-registration to inform the MCA of any changes.

MARPOL surveyors must inform the Maritime and Coastguard Agency if they change employer as this requires a new authorisation to be issued. Changes of this kind may be charged at the current hourly rate. If you do not inform the Maritime and Coastguard Agency of any changes like this it will result in MARPOL surveyor authorisation becoming invalid.

Future appointments

Any application for appointment as a MARPOL surveyor should be made to the address shown at the bottom of this page. Upon receipt of an enquiry regarding an application for authorisation the MCA will send costs and details of the information required.

Cargoes, Safety and Pollution Prevention
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Bay 2/23
Spring Place
105, Commercial Road
Southampton
SO15 1EG

Email: MARPOL.Surveyors@mcga.gov.uk

Updates to this page

Published 23 June 2015
Last updated 24 June 2025 show all updates
  1. Robert Watkins added to List of MARPOL Surveyors - AmSpec 天美影院 Ltd

  2. Jay Tilbury added to List of MARPOL Surveyors - SGS United Kingdom Limited (Essex)

  3. Robert Watkins removed from Intertek Middlesborough.

  4. Updated list of MARPOL surveyors following the re-registration period for 2024.

  5. Anthony Robinson of Intertek (Immingham) is now registered as a MARPOL surveyor.

  6. David Copeland of T.E. JOHNSTON & CO. (MARINE) LTD. is now registered as a MARPOL surveyor, operating in the North West/Merseyside area.

  7. Andrei Vasc added as a surveyor

  8. Updated list of MARPOL surveyors following the re-registration period for 2023, which now includes additional surveyor details where provided. This list has been updated from a CSV to a HTML attachment for better user experience.

  9. Michael S Dyke added to the list as an Approved Surveyor for AMS Global Group

  10. James Buchan has been removed from the list

  11. David Wigmore of Briggs Marine Fawley added tot he list of approved surveyors.

  12. Addition of new MARPOL surveyor to Intertek, Immingham.

  13. Addition of new MARPOL Surveyor for Intertek Caleb Brett, Middlesbrough

  14. David Tingle and Christopher Hardwick added as surveyors from Intertek Caleb Brett (Middlesbrough)

  15. Removal of Glenn Ralston, no longer working for McAuslands and Turner Ltd

  16. Nixon Joseph added to list of MARPOL Surveyors

  17. Gavin Szatmari added to the list of surveyors

  18. Updated list after the 2022 renewal period

  19. Updated approved MARPOL surveyors list to reflect the adding of Chris Edwards

  20. Added new approved MARPOL Surveyor - Reece Chapman

  21. New surveyor added to list

  22. PDF format change

  23. Updated PDF

  24. Updated list of MARPOL surveyors

  25. Edited details section

  26. Uploaded new approved list of MARPOL Surveyors

  27. Uploaded latest approved MARPOL Surveyors following the re-registration process

  28. A revised list of approved surveyors has been uploaded

  29. uploaded new list of approved MARPOL surveyors

  30. Uploaded revised approved MARPOL surveyor list - July 2020

  31. Uploaded revised Approved MARPOL Surveyor list

  32. Changes to address details and added an email address

  33. Updated list of MARPOL Surveyors added

  34. Updated Approved Marpol Surveyors list

  35. Updated List of approved Marpol Surveyors

  36. Latest list of surveyors added

  37. Updated list of MARPOL surveyors

  38. New revision of MARPOL Surveyors list updated

  39. Latest version of approved surveyors added (Oct 2018)

  40. Surveyor list updated Aug 2018

  41. Updated list of approved surveyors

  42. New MARPOL surveyor list

  43. Updated list of MARPOL approved surveyors (July 2016)

  44. Updated list of MARPOL approved surveyors.

  45. September 2015 MARPOL Surveyors List Uploaded

  46. Approved MARPOL surveyors list updated and addition of MEPC 118(52) Annex II MARPOL Amended 14-7-2015

  47. First published.

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