IMO Sub-Committee Accepts Use of E-BDNs

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday May 12, 2023

A sub-committee of the IMO has accepted the used of e-BDNs for compliance purposes after a proposal was submitted by industry body IBIA.

IBIA had proposed to the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response that both physical and digital BDNs should be acceptable for the purposes of recording fuel oil consumption for MARPOL Annex VI requirements, it said in a note to members on its website.

"Our proposal was for a Unified Interpretation to clarify that electronic BNDs are also acceptable," the organisation said.

"This principle was generally supported, but there was a lot of debate about how to move forward with this.

"Our proposal for Unified Interpretation also mentioned "taking into account" relevant section of a FAL Circular with guidelines for the use of electronic certificates.

"This was added to alleviate concerns from some parties about the authenticity of digital BDNs.

"The reference to the FAL circular was, however, problematic for many delegates and created a long debate about how to avoid references to other IMO circulars or resolutions that could give the impression that the BDN is a certificate, or that an administration must approve the use of electronic BDNs."

The interpretation agreed at PPR 10 will be presented to the next Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in July for its approval.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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