Answer
Key Statutory Standards & Performance Limits (MEPC.244(66) & Regulation 16)Modern incinerators installed on or after January 1, 2010, must comply with Resolution MEPC.244(66) (Standard Specification for Shipboard Incinerators), which updated the older MEPC.76(40) baseline:
Flue Gas & Combustion Temperature Limits:
Continuous-feed Incinerators: Waste feeding is automatically locked out and prohibited whenever the combustion chamber outlet temperature falls below 850°C.
Batch-loaded Incinerators: The unit must be engineered to reach 600°C within 5 minutes of ignition and subsequently stabilize between 850°C and 1200°C.
Mandatory Safety Interlocks / Automatic Shutdown:
Flue gas outlet temperature drops below 850∘C or exceeds 1200∘C.
Flame failure / burner misfire.
Combustion air blower failure.
Control power or electrical supply loss.
Flue Gas Oxygen & Carbon Monoxide Content:
O₂ content at the combustion chamber outlet must remain between 6% and 12%.
CO levels in flue gas must not exceed 200 mg/MJ (averaged over operating cycles).
At PPR 13 (February 2026), IMO agreed a new/revised Unified Interpretation of Regulation 16.9 dealing with shipboard incinerator type-approval testing; this was forwarded to MEPC 84 (April–May 2026) for approval. The clarification concerns how the type-approval testing requirement is applied.