Regional Reception Facilities Plan under MARPOL
The MARPOL regional arrangement by which Small Island Developing States and, since 2024, Arctic coastal States meet reception duties through one plan.
A Regional Reception Facilities Plan is the document through which a group of States meets its MARPOL reception facility obligations regionally rather than port by port. Resolution MEPC.216(63), in force 1 August 2013, introduced regional arrangements for Small Island Developing States across the MARPOL Annexes, and for Annex V resolution MEPC.360(79), in force 1 May 2024, extended the route to ports within Arctic waters of States whose coastline borders those waters, where a regional arrangement is the only practical means of meeting the requirement.
The full article will cover what the plan must contain, how it is circulated through IMO, which regions have adopted one, and what it means for a ship whose nearest adequate facility is in another State. The Annex V context for cargo residues is in Annex V HME cargo residues, E-waste and hold-wash water .