Annex III to the Protocol of 17 February 1978 relating to the 
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from 
Ships of 2 November 1973 (MARPOL 73/78), as amended on 30 
October 1992 

Done at London, 17 February 1978 

Entered into force 1 July 1992 

REGULATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY HARMFUL 
SUBSTANCES CARRIED BY SEA IN PACKAGED FORM 

Regulation 1 

Application 

1 Unless expressly provided otherwise, the regulations of this 
Annex apply to all ships carrying harmful substances in packaged 
form. 

1.1 For the purposes of this Annex, "harmful substances" are 
those substances which are identified as marine pollutants in 
the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code. 

1.2 Guidelines for the identification of harmful substances in 
packaged form are given in the appendix to this Annex. 

1.3 For the purposes of this Annex, "packaged form" is defined 
as the forms of containment specified for harmful substances in 
the IMDG Code. 

2 The carriage of harmful substances is prohibited, except in 
accordance with the provisions of this Annex. 

3 To supplement the provisions of this Annex, the Government of 
each Party to the Convention shall issue, or cause to be issued, 
detailed requirements on packing, marking, labelling, 
documentation, stowage, quantity limitations and exceptions for 
preventing or minimizing pollution of the marine environment by 
harmful substances.2 

4 For the purposes of this Annex, empty packagings which have 
been used previously for the carriage of harmful substances 
shall themselves be treated as harmful substances unless 
adequate precautions have been taken to ensure that they contain 
no residue that is harmful to the marine environment. 

5 The requirements of this Annex do not apply to ships' stores 
and equipment. 

Regulation 2 

Packing 

Packages shall be adequate to minimize the hazard to the marine 
environment, having regard to their specific contents. 

Regulation 3 

Marking and labelling 

1 Packages containing a harmful substance shall be durably 
marked with the correct technical name (trade names alone shall 
not be used) and, further, shall be durably marked or labelled 
to indicate that the substance is a marine pollutant. Such 
identification shall be supplemented where possible by any other 
means, for example, by use of the relevant United Nations 
number. 

2 The method of marking the correct technical name and of 
affixing labels on packages containing a harmful substance shall 
be such that this information will still be identifiable on 
packages surviving at least three months' immersion in the sea. 
In considering suitable marking and labelling, account shall be 
taken of the durability of the materials used and of the surface 
of the package. 

3 Packages containing small quantities of harmful substances may 
be exempted from the marking requirements. 

Regulation 4 

Documentation 

1 In all documents relating to the carriage of harmful 
substances by sea where such substances are named, the correct 
technical name of each such substance shall be used (trade names 
alone shall not be used) and the substance further identified by 
the addition of the words "MARINE POLLUTANT". 

2 The shipping documents supplied by the shipper shall include, 
or be accompanied by, a signed certificate or declaration that 
the shipment offered for carriage is properly packaged and 
marked, labelled or placarded as appropriate and in proper 
condition for carriage to minimize the hazard to the marine 
environment. 

3 Each ship carrying harmful substances shall have a special 
list or manifest setting forth the harmful substances on board 
and the location thereof. A detailed stowage plan which sets out 
the location of the harmful substances on board may be used in 
place of such special list or manifest. 

Copies of such documents shall also be retained on shore by the 
owner of the ship or his representative until the harmful 
substances are unloaded. A copy of one of these documents shall 
be made available before departure to the person or organization 
designated by the port State authority. 

4 When the ship carries a special list or manifest or a detailed 
stowage plan, required for the carriage of dangerous goods by 
the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 
1974, as amended, the documents required by this regulation may 
be combined with those for dangerous goods. Where documents are 
combined, a clear distinction shall be made between dangerous 
goods and harmful substances covered by this Annex. 

Regulation 5 

Stowage 

Harmful substances shall be properly stowed and secured so as to 
minimize the hazards to the marine environment without impairing 
the safety of the ship and persons on board. 

Regulation 6 

Quantity limitations 

Certain harmful substances may, for sound scientific and 
technical reasons, need to be prohibited for carriage or be 
limited as to the quantity which may be carried aboard any one 
ship. In limiting the quantity, due consideration shall be given 
to size, construction and equipment of the ship, as well as the 
packaging and the inherent nature of the substances. 

Regulation 7 

Exceptions 

1 Jettisoning of harmful substances carried in packaged form 
shall be prohibited, except where necessary for the purpose of 
securing the safety of the ship or saving life at sea. 

2 Subject to the provisions of the present Convention, 
appropriate measures based on the physical, chemical and 
biological properties of harmful substances shall be taken to 
regulate the washing of leakages overboard, provided that 
compliance with such measures would not impair the safety of the 
ship and persons on board. 

Appendix 

GUIDELINES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF HARMFUL SUBSTANCES IN 
PACKAGED FORM 

For the purposes of this Annex, substances identified by any one 
of the following criteria are harmful substances: 

- bioaccumulated to a significant extent and known to produce a 
hazard to aquatic life or to human health (Hazard Rating "+" in 
column A); or 

- bioaccumulated with attendant risk to aquatic organisms or to 
human health with a short retention of the order of one week or 
less (Hazard Rating "Z" in column A6); or 

- liable to produce tainting of seafood (Hazard Rating "T" in 
column A6); or 

- highly toxic to aquatic life, defined by a LC50/96 hour less 
than 1 ppm (Hazard Rating "4" in column B6).