The Chinese Regulation which applies to sewage is Discharge Standard for Water Pollutions from Ships (GB 3552-2018).
According to GB 3552-2018, when a vessel is more than 3 nautical miles from the nearest land, the sewage after treatment can be discharged and the following requirement shall be met.
Further, please note the following requirements on sewage discharge when the vessel is less than 3 nautical miles from the nearest land which may be of your concern.
According to GB 3552-2018, when a vessel is less than 3 nautical miles from the nearest land, sewage cannot be directly discharged into environmental water bodies. And the sewage shall be processed by one of the two methods according to article 5.1.1:
a) Use the reception facilities onboard, discharge to reception facilities.
b) Use the sewage treatment equipment, discharge en route and article 5.2 shall be met.
Article 5.2 stipulates that when discharge in inland rivers or at waters less than 3 nautical mile to the nearest land, the following thresholds shall apply according to vessel’s type and the time of installation (including replacement) of the sewage treatment devices.
Article 5.2.1: Ships that have installed/replaced sewage treatment devices before 01.01.2012, the discharging limits of sewage should be in line with the below table:
Article 5.2.2: Ships that installed/replaced sewage treatment devices after 01.01.2012, the discharging limits of sewage should be in line with below table (except the passenger ships).
Source: HUATAI
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