At 3-12 NM, which waste may be discharged under the rules?

• A. Oily waste 15ppm no sheen
• B. Gray water
• C. Unprocessed garbage
• D. Pulped food and paper

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that what you can discharge at sea depends on how far you are from land and the quality of the discharge. In the 3–12 nautical mile band, the only waste among these options that may be discharged is oily waste that has been treated so its oil content is 15 parts per million or less and there is no visible sheen on the water surface when discharged. This combination—oil content at or below 15 ppm plus no sheen—meets the requirements for discharging oily waste in this zone, after appropriate separation and monitoring.

The other wastes don’t meet those conditions in this distance range. Gray water, unprocessed garbage, and pulped food and paper are not permitted to be discharged in this band under standard MARPOL rules, so they must be handled differently (stored for disposal or discharged further offshore or under other approved methods).