Nearest land under MARPOL
How MARPOL measures distance from the nearest land: the territorial-sea baseline, the north-eastern Australia line, and the ice references in the Polar Code.
Nearest land is the reference from which MARPOL discharge distances are measured. In MARPOL Annex V , Regulation 1.11 defines it as the baseline from which the territorial sea of the territory in question is established in accordance with international law, except off north-eastern Australia, where a line from 11 degrees 00 minutes S, 142 degrees 08 minutes E to 24 degrees 42 minutes S, 153 degrees 15 minutes E is used.
Because the starting line is the baseline rather than the coast, straight baselines across bays and island fringes move the 3 and 12 nautical mile distances of Annex V Regulation 4 seaward. The full article will compare the definitions across Annexes I, II, IV and V, explain baselines under UNCLOS , and cover the ice shelf and fast ice references in the Polar Code.