# MARPOL

> The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, covering oil, chemicals, sewage, garbage, and air emissions.

## Record

- Record type: Encyclopedia entry
- Canonical page: https://admiralsatlas.com/en/regulation/marpol/
- Last updated: 2026-08-31

## Article

MARPOL (from “marine pollution”) is the IMO’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, adopted in 1973 and modified by its 1978 Protocol — hence the common designation MARPOL 73/78. It is organized in six annexes:

- Annex I — oil (this annex drove the phase-out of single-hull tankers)
- Annex II — noxious liquid substances carried in bulk

- Annex III — harmful substances in packaged form
- Annex IV — sewage

- Annex V — garbage, including a general prohibition on plastic disposal at sea
- Annex VI — air pollution, including SOx and NOx limits and, since 2023, the carbon-intensity measures EEXI and CII

Annex VI has been the most consequential in recent years: the global 0.5% sulphur cap (“IMO 2020”) reshaped fuel markets, Emission Control Areas impose a stricter 0.1% limit in designated waters, and the IMO’s greenhouse-gas strategy is progressively adding carbon regulation on top.

Special Areas under the various annexes (such as the Mediterranean and Baltic) carry stricter discharge rules, and violations are prosecuted vigorously — “magic pipe” oily-water cases in the United States regularly produce multi-million-dollar criminal penalties.

## Related records

- [Ballast water management](/en/regulation/ballast-water-management/index.md)
- [Bunkers](/en/operations/bunkers/index.md)
- [SOLAS](/en/regulation/solas/index.md)