Scrubber sludge and residue management
Exhaust gas cleaning system residues must be delivered ashore to reception facilities and may not be discharged to sea or incinerated on board.
Scrubber residues are the solids and sludge that a wet exhaust gas cleaning system separates out of its discharge water: soot, ash, heavy metals, unburned hydrocarbons and, in a closed loop, sulphate salts. Paragraph 10.5.1 of resolution MEPC.340(77) is unambiguous about where they go. They should be delivered ashore to adequate reception facilities, and they should not be discharged to the sea or incinerated on board.
The incineration prohibition is the provision most often missed. A ship with an incinerator certified under Regulation 16 may not use it on EGCS residue. Paragraph 10.5.2 requires storage and disposal to be recorded in the EGC Record Book with date, time and location.
The full article will cover residue generation rates by system type, hold tank sizing, the dewatering and treatment train, the reception facility route and its practical availability, waste classification on landing, and the documentation a terminal asks for.