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TECHNICAL NOTE No. TECH-004-2026 Panama Oil Record Book and Emissions (Amendments and Guidelines)

The purpose of this technical note is to provide information on the new guidelines for the Oil and
Emissions Record Book (ORB&E) on Panamanian-flagged vessels, ensuring compliance with the
requirements of Annex I (oil pollution) and Annex VI (air pollution) of the MARPOL Convention.
The new amendments were made to paragraph 5.6.11. A new paragraph 5.8 was added and the
the previous paragraph 5.8 became the new paragraph 5.9.
APPLICABILITY: 3.1. The provisions of MARPOL Annex I & VI apply to all ships as specified in the
Convention.
General Requirements
1. Oil Record Book must be kept on board
• All required oil and emission operations must be recorded in the Oil Record Book and Emissions.
• The book must be readily available for inspection.
• It must be kept on board and preserved for 3 years after the last entry.
Structure of the Panama Oil Record Book and Emissions
Panama combines several MARPOL records into one book with three parts:
Part I – Machinery Space Operations (All ships)
• Required for:
o Oil tankers ≥150 GT
o Other ships ≥400 GT
Part II – Cargo and Ballast Operations (Tankers)
• Required for:
o Oil tankers ≥150 GT
o Oil tankers <150 GT (to control oil discharge)
Part III – Air Pollution Prevention (All ships)
• Ships ≥400 GT must record Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and other air-pollution items.How Entries Must Be Made
• Entries must include date, operational code, and item number.
• Records must be chronological.
• Date format: DD-MONTH-YYYY (e.g., 16-MAR-2009).
• Each entry must be:
o Signed by the responsible officer
o Each completed page signed by the Master.
• No blank lines between entries.
• Mistakes must be crossed with a single line, corrected, signed, and dated.
Special Guidance
Dry Dock Operations
• If tanks are emptied before docking → no entry needed.
• If sludge/bilge is removed during docking:
o Shipyard receipts must be kept with the ORB.
o ORB must balance before leaving dry dock.
• If ship crew discharges to a facility → ORB entry and receipt required.
Incineration
• Incineration of oily garbage or filters must be recorded in:
o Garbage Record Book (Annex V)
o Oil Record Book and Emissions Part I & III
Oily Water Separator (OWS)
• Routine maintenance records are voluntary and not mandatory in the ORB.
Operational Codes for ORB Entries (examples)
Common codes used when recording operations:
• C.11 – Collection of sludge
• C.12 – Disposal/transfer of sludge
• D – Manual discharge/transfer of bilge water
• E – Automatic bilge discharge/transfer
• F – Oil filtering equipment condition
• G – Accidental oil discharge
• H – Bunkering fuel or lube oil
• I – Additional remarks or procedures
Requirements for oil tankers of less than 150 gross tonnage.
Taking into consideration that the requirements of regulations 29, 31 and 32 of Annex I MARPOL 73/78
shall not apply to oil tankers of less than 150 gross tonnage, for which the control of oil discharge shall be
performed by the retention of oil on board with subsequent discharge of all contaminated washings to
reception facilities; that the total quantity of oil and water used for washing and returned to a storage tank shall be discharged to reception facilities unless adequate arrangements are made to ensure that any
effluent, which is allowed to be discharged into the sea is effectively monitored; this Administration
requires that all oil tanker of less than 150 GRT shall have onboard the Panamanian official Oil Record
Book and Emissions.
Based on the previous paragraphs, this Administration instructs to record on Part II of the Panamanian
Official Oil Record Book and Emissions, all the operations carried out on board of oil tankers of less than
150 GRT to control the discharge of oil. This should be done by filling out the applicable items from the
list provided in Part II of the Oil Record Book and Emissions.