Policy Letter 21-01 and CVC-WI-014(1) will be cancelled on December 31, 2023, at which time all new engines installed on ships must comply with applicable MARPOL Annex VI Reg 13 Tier III requirements. Engines installed under the provisions of CVC-WI-014(1) and Policy 21-01 (Change 1) will continue to be covered by the Policy and WI even after MARPOL complaint engines become available; these engines may continue to be used for the operating life of the engine. Owners / operators shall maintain applicable vessel records for determination of engine status.
The Coast Guard Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance (CVC) developed Work Instruction (WI) CVC-WI-014(1) on October 17, 2018 due to the unavailability of engines at that time needed to comply with MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 13.5.1.2. The work instruction allowed both U.S. and foreign flagged vessels to install qualified engines certified to Clean Air Act Tier III for operating in the North American and U.S. Caribbean Sea NOx Emission Control Areas (ECA) until such time that MARPOL Annex VI Tier III engines became available.
Additionally, the Coast Guard published CG-CVC Policy Letter 21-01 (Change 1) on March 24, 2021, to outline the Coast Guard enforcement stance for MARPOL Annex VI Reg. 13.5.1.2.1, the NOx limits, for engines at or above 130 kW installed on recreational vessels above 24 meters in length and less than 500 gross tonnage (“large recreational vessels”). While MARPOL Annex VI Reg. 13.5.2.3. granted a temporary waiver for large recreational vessels to comply with the NOx standards of Reg. 13.5.1.1, that waiver expired on January 1, 2021. Policy Letter 21-01 provides a deferral of enforcement for large recreational vessels until December 31, 2023, at which point deferred enforcement will expire.
Questions concerning this blog post should be directed to CGCVC@uscg.mil.