Professional Diploma in Oil Spill and Shipboard Pollution Control
This professional diploma equips you to prevent, control and document pollution from ships in line with MARPOL and the related conventions. You will work with oily water separators, oil content monitors and the Oil Record Book, SOPEP and SMPEP spill response, sewage plants and garbage management plans, sulfur limits, scrubbers, EEXI, CII and SEEMP, ballast water management systems and anti-fouling rules, tank cleaning, ship-to-ship transfers and bunkering, preparing you to keep a vessel compliant and to respond effectively when something goes wrong.
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What is the Professional Diploma in Oil Spill and Shipboard Pollution Control?
This professional diploma focuses on pollution control where it starts: on board the ship. You will study the international framework of MARPOL 73/78 and its six annexes, UNCLOS, OPRC, CLC and FUND, port and flag state inspections and the environmental certificates they check, the operation, maintenance and record-keeping of oily water separators, oil content monitors, bilge and sludge systems, SOPEP and SMPEP emergency plans and spill kits, POLREP reporting, dangerous goods under the IMDG Code, sewage treatment plants, garbage segregation and the Garbage Record Book, air emissions, fuel sulfur limits, NOx tiers, scrubbers and energy efficiency indices, ozone-depleting refrigerants and VOC control, the Ballast Water Management Convention and its treatment systems, anti-fouling rules, crude oil washing, tank cleaning, ODME, ship-to-ship transfers and bunkering.
What sets this professional diploma apart: it is built around discharge and spill control rather than general waste handling, and it looks at environmental compliance through the eyes of the crew and the company, linking each MARPOL rule to the equipment that delivers it and the record book that proves it; it gives equal weight to prevention, day-to-day operation and emergency response; it covers every annex, from oil and noxious liquids to garbage, sewage, air emissions and decarbonisation, together with ballast water and anti-fouling; and it ends with an integrative project in which you audit a ship's environmental equipment and documentation, write its spill response plan and prepare the official incident report.
Program highlights
- Legal framework: MARPOL 73/78 Annexes I to VI, OPRC, CLC and FUND, port state control and environmental certificates.
- Oily waste: oily water separators, 15 ppm oil content monitors, bilge and sludge management and the Oil Record Book.
- Spill response on board: SOPEP and SMPEP, spill kits, deck containment, POLREP reporting and drills.
- Sewage, garbage and dangerous goods: sewage treatment plants, garbage management plans, record books and the IMDG Code.
- Air emissions and ballast water: sulfur limits, scrubbers, EEXI, CII and SEEMP, BWM Convention and treatment systems.
- Integrative project: environmental audit of a ship, tailored spill response plan, record book entries and POLREP.
Syllabus of the Professional Diploma in Oil Spill and Shipboard Pollution Control
8 modules. Select a module to see its content.
International legal framework, MARPOL 73/78 and the inspection regime
- 1.1. International regulatory framework for marine environmental protection: MARPOL 73/78 and its Annexes I to VI, UNCLOS and resolutions of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)
- 1.2. MARPOL Annex I (prevention of pollution by oil): special areas, requirements for the discharge of oil and exemption criteria
- 1.3. MARPOL Annex II (control of pollution by noxious liquid substances in bulk): categories X, Y, Z and OS and the Procedures and Arrangements (P&A) Manual
- 1.4. Port State Control (PSC) and flag state inspections: verification of environmental certificates (IOPP, NLS, ISPP, IAPP), ISM Code audits and detainable deficiencies
- 1.5. Civil liability, P&I clubs and the penalty regime: the 1992 CLC, the FUND Convention, the European directive on ship-source pollution and the criminal and financial liability of the master and officers
- 1.6. The OPRC 1990 Convention (oil pollution preparedness, response and co-operation): tier 1, 2 and 3 emergencies and national and international contingency plans
- 1.7. Environmental management systems on ships: ISO 14001 adapted to the maritime sector, environmental compliance audits and the role of the Environmental Compliance Officer
- 1.8. Port State Control inspections on MARPOL matters
Oily water separation systems, bilges and the Oil Record Book
- 2.1. Oily water separators (15 ppm OWS): separation by coalescence, inclined plate filtration, centrifuges and ceramic ultrafiltration
- 2.2. Oil content monitors (OCM): light scattering principle, calibration, function tests, automatic 15 ppm alarms and security sealing
- 2.3. Automatic stopping and diverting valves: operation of the three-way valve, interlocks with the OCM and prevention of unauthorised overboard discharges
- 2.4. Management and treatment of engine room bilge water: bilge holding tanks, settling, primary separation, filtration and internal transfer of oily residues
- 2.5. Management of sludge and fuel oil residues: sludge tanks, onboard incineration, sludge water evaporators and delivery to port reception facilities (MARPOL Annex I)
- 2.6. Completing and keeping the Oil Record Book (ORB Part I): recording machinery space operations, operation codes A to I, common errors, mandatory signatures and fraud prevention
- 2.7. Preventive maintenance of OWS equipment: renewing coalescers, cleaning OCM measuring cells, alarm trip tests and manufacturer audit records
- 2.8. Oil discharge monitoring equipment (ODME)
SOPEP and SMPEP emergency plans and spill response procedures
- 3.1. Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP): structure approved by the administration, emergency contact lists (coastal and company) and operating procedures
- 3.2. Shipboard Marine Pollution Emergency Plan for noxious liquid substances (SMPEP): requirements for chemical tankers and general cargo ships, safety data sheets (SDS) and chemical containment measures
- 3.3. Immediate action after a spill on board: raising the alarm, stopping cargo or transfer operations, closing valves and containment on deck
- 3.4. Emergency spill response equipment and kits (SOPEP lockers): absorbent booms, absorbent pads, portable pneumatic transfer pumps, dispersants and sprayers
- 3.5. Deck containment techniques and prevention of overboard spills: plugging scuppers, using drip trays, manual pumping to holding tanks and isolating vents
- 3.6. Official notification of the environmental incident: the standard IMO oil pollution report format (POLREP) and communication with the coastal MRCC and the company's designated person ashore (DPA)
- 3.7. Periodic spill containment drills on board: organizing the response team, reaction times, checking the SOPEP inventory and recording in the logbook
- 3.8. Spill response equipment on board
MARPOL Annexes III, IV and V: dangerous goods, sewage and garbage management
- 4.1. MARPOL Annex III (pollution by harmful substances in packaged form): marking, labeling, packing, stowage and quantity limits under the IMDG Code
- 4.2. MARPOL Annex IV (prevention of pollution by sewage): gray water and black water and minimum distances for discharge at sea (3 and 12 nautical miles)
- 4.3. Marine sewage treatment plants (STP): activated sludge biological processes, MBR reactors, chlorine or UV disinfection and solids maceration
- 4.4. MARPOL Annex V (prevention of pollution by garbage from ships): total ban on discharging plastics at sea and restrictions on food waste, paper, rags, glass and cargo residues
- 4.5. Garbage Management Plan (GMP): segregation at source with color-coded bins, compaction, shredding, incineration and hygienic storage on board
- 4.6. Garbage Record Book (GRB): waste categories A to K, recording discharges at sea, deliveries ashore and incineration; port delivery receipts
- 4.7. Delivery of waste to port reception facilities (MARPOL Annexes IV and V): the standard discharge connection, costs and delivery certificates
- 4.8. Garbage management plans and the record book
MARPOL Annex VI: energy efficiency, air emissions control and decarbonisation
- 5.1. MARPOL Annex VI (prevention of air pollution): sulfur limits in marine fuels (0.50% globally, 0.10% in emission control areas) and control of nitrogen oxides (NOx Tiers I, II and III)
- 5.2. Exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers): open-loop, closed-loop and hybrid systems; management and discharge of scrubber wash water
- 5.3. Energy efficiency indices for merchant ships: Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII)
- 5.4. Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP Parts I, II and III): fuel consumption data collection (IMO DCS and EU MRV), operational measures and carbon reduction plans
- 5.5. Ozone-depleting substances and fluorinated gases: control of synthetic refrigerants (R22, R134a, R404A) in refrigeration plants, leak records, recovery and recharging
- 5.6. Volatile organic compound (VOC) emission control: VOC management plans on oil tankers during loading and tank gas-freeing
- 5.7. New low- and zero-emission marine fuels: environmental risk assessment of LNG, methanol, ammonia, hydrogen and biofuels on board
- 5.8. Exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers)
Ballast water management (BWM Convention 2004), sediments and invasive species
- 6.1. International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM 2004): ecological aims and the D-1 (exchange) and D-2 (performance) standards
- 6.2. Ballast water exchange standard (D-1): sequential, flow-through and dilution methods at sea, minimum depth (200 m) and distance from land (50 nautical miles)
- 6.3. Ballast water management systems (BWMS, D-2 standard): filtration, UV disinfection, electrochlorination, ozonation and chemical treatment technologies
- 6.4. Operation and maintenance of the BWMS on board: automatic filter backflushing, calibration of UV dose and TRO (total residual oxidant) sensors and neutralization before discharge
- 6.5. Ballast Water Management Plan (BWMP): duties of the ballast officer, tank plans, sampling of discharges and management of sediments in tanks
- 6.6. Ballast Water Record Book (BWRB): recording uptake, exchange, treatment and discharge at sea or to port reception facilities
- 6.7. Anti-fouling systems and biocides (AFS Convention 2001): rules on hull paints, the ban on TBT and cybutryne and the International Anti-fouling System Certificate
- 6.8. Ballast water treatment systems
Tank cleaning, STS operations, gas-freeing and prevention of cargo spills
- 7.1. Cargo tank washing on oil tankers (crude oil washing, COW): the COW manual, inert gas during washing, prevention of explosive atmospheres and discharge of traces
- 7.2. Tank cleaning and gas-freeing on chemical tankers: fresh or salt water washing, detergents, forced ventilation and management of slops with chemical residues (Annex II)
- 7.3. Oil discharge monitoring and control systems (ODME): computed instantaneous rate of discharge, the 30 liters per nautical mile limit and automatic shutdown
- 7.4. Ship-to-ship (STS) cargo transfers at sea: the STS operations plan (MARPOL Annex I), risk assessment, fenders and preventive booms
- 7.5. Cargo management and prevention of container losses at sea: safe stowage of dangerous goods, control of toxic liquid spills on deck and reporting losses to the MRCC
- 7.6. Offshore oil recovery and coastal response: disc, brush and weir skimmers, open-sea containment booms and aerial or vessel application of dispersants
- 7.7. Cleaning, decontamination and management of waste from spill response: temporary storage in portable tanks, segregation of contaminated material and final disposal ashore
- 7.8. Bunkering procedures and spill prevention
Integrative project: shipboard environmental audit, spill response plan and technical file
- 8.1. Definition of the operating or incident scenario: choice of vessel type (oil tanker, chemical tanker, container ship or passenger ship) and trading area
- 8.2. Audit of environmental documentation and equipment on board: review of certificates (IOPP, ISPP, IAPP, IBWMC) and checks on OWS/OCM, STP and BWMS operation and instrument calibration
- 8.3. Development of a ship-specific SOPEP / SMPEP: immediate action guide for deck spills or spills after collision or grounding, response team organization and contact matrix
- 8.4. Record book simulation: completing practical entries in the Oil Record Book (Parts I and II), the Garbage Record Book and the Ballast Water Record Book
- 8.5. Calculating and sizing a response to an oil spill at sea: estimating the volume spilled, the slick trajectory and the choice of containment booms and skimmers
- 8.6. Preparation of the official notification (POLREP) and investigation report: the environmental incident report for the maritime administration, the P&I insurer and the classification society
- 8.7. The ship's environmental compliance file
- 8.8. Technical presentation and defense of the project, covering the environmental audit and contingency plan, before an assessment panel
Duration and format of the Professional Diploma in Oil Spill and Shipboard Pollution Control
It is 800 hours. Tell us how many you can study each week and we will tell you when you will really finish.
This is the pace at which most students finish. It fits well with the installment plan.
Academic leadership and faculty
The Navalis teaching team: working professionals who teach and supervise the programs.
Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic Director and Head of Quality Assurance
Eng. Diego CifuentesSenior Lecturer in Naval Welding and Non-Destructive Testing; Head of QA/QC for Welded Joints
Capt. Javier Abaroa (MCA)Senior Lecturer in Ship Handling, Electronic Navigation (ECDIS/Radar/ARPA) and GMDSS; STCW Compliance and Bridge Resource Management Coordinator
Dr. Pau FerrerSenior Lecturer in Naval Architecture and Simulation; Director of the Hydrodynamics and CFD Laboratory
Dr. Nuria LlobregatSenior Lecturer in Marine Meteorology, SAR and Operational Safety; Navigation Risk Management Coordinator
Eng. Javier BañulsSenior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Automation and ETO Engineering; Electronic Integration and Engine Alarms Coordinator
Eng. Sofía MarquinaSenior Lecturer in Materials, Composites and Corrosion Protection; Coordinator of the Advanced Paints and Coatings Line
Eng. Tomás RieraSenior Lecturer in Propulsion, Alternative Energy and Hybrid Systems; Energy Performance and Vibration CoordinatorObjectives of the Professional Diploma in Oil Spill and Shipboard Pollution Control
Career opportunities after the Professional Diploma in Oil Spill and Shipboard Pollution Control
Questions about the Professional Diploma in Oil Spill and Shipboard Pollution Control
Pollution from ships: oil and oily waste, noxious liquid substances, packaged dangerous goods, sewage, garbage, air emissions, ballast water and anti-fouling systems, together with cargo spills during tank cleaning, ship-to-ship transfers and bunkering.
Yes. Annexes I to VI are all covered, alongside the BWM Convention, the AFS Convention, OPRC, CLC and FUND and the port and flag state inspection regime.
Yes. The program explains the Oil Record Book, the Garbage Record Book and the Ballast Water Record Book in detail, with common errors and practical entries in the final project.
This diploma centers on discharge and spill control: oily water separators and oil content monitors, the Oil Record Book, SOPEP and SMPEP response, POLREP reporting, air emissions, ballast water, tank cleaning, ship-to-ship transfers and bunkering. A waste management program concentrates on garbage, sewage, minimization and recycling of the waste generated on board.
Yes. A full module deals with sulfur and NOx limits, scrubbers, EEDI, EEXI, CII and SEEMP, refrigerant gases, VOC control and the environmental risks of alternative fuels such as LNG, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen.
Mainly for the maritime industry: shipping companies, ship operators and crews, as well as HSEQ staff, environmental auditors and consultants and professionals in ports and offshore energy.
Through case studies and exercises in each module and an integrative project in which you audit a ship's environmental equipment and documentation, write its spill response plan, complete record book entries and prepare a POLREP.
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Admission process
No waiting for a call back. If your documents are in order, you can enroll in the same session.
- Profile: aimed at merchant navy officers and engineers, port operations supervisors, HSEQ managers in shipping companies and terminals, environmental consultants and auditors, offshore and energy professionals, and graduates in marine biology, oceanography and related fields; a degree in environmental science, chemical, environmental or naval engineering, marine biology or a related field, or proven experience in maritime or port operations or environmental management, is recommended, together with basic knowledge of chemistry and maritime environmental rules.
- Language: sufficient command of English to follow the classes and the technical documentation.
- Technical resources: a computer with a camera, microphone and a stable broadband internet connection, able to open PDF documents and spreadsheets.
- Admission: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.
- 01ApplicationYour details, background and documents.
- 02Instant reviewWe check that everything is complete and in order.
- 03EnrollmentChoose full payment or instalments and reserve your place.
Admission is provisional until the committee validates the documents provided. If you do not meet the requirements, the full amount is refunded.
Ask us before you enroll
Leave your details and admissions will write to you to answer any questions. If you are already sure, you can apply and pay in the same session.