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Life Support Systems
Life Support Systems covers the accommodation equipment that delivers drinking and hot water to the people on board and takes away what they leave behind. It includes potable water treatment, calorifiers, vacuum and gravity toilet systems and sanitary units, together with food waste systems, compactors, balers, shredders and incinerators. Water production and sewage treatment plants sit in their own Categories.
The two sub-Categories and their neighbours
| Sub-Category | What it includes | Main rules |
|---|---|---|
| Water and sanitation | Potable water treatment, calorifiers, vacuum and gravity toilets, sanitary units | ISO 15748, WHO ship sanitation guidance, MLC |
| Waste management | Food waste grinders and vacuum systems, compactors, balers, shredders, incinerators | MARPOL Annex V, MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 16 |
Fresh water production is under water makers and purification. Treatment of collected black water is under sewage treatment plants. The equipment in this group sits between those plants and the people using them, so its sizing and interfaces depend on both.
MARPOL Annex IV for sewage
MARPOL treats fixed and floating platforms as ships. Annex IV applies to ships of 400 gross tonnage and above and to smaller ones certified to carry more than 15 persons. Regulation 9 requires one of three things on board. These are a type-approved sewage treatment plant, an approved comminuting and disinfecting system, or a holding tank.
Treatment plants installed on or after 1 January 2016 must be type approved to resolution MEPC.227(64). Its effluent limits are 100 thermotolerant coliforms per 100 ml, 35 mg/l total suspended solids, 25 mg/l five-day BOD, 125 mg/l COD and pH 6 to 8.5. Its nitrogen and phosphorus limits apply only to passenger ships in special areas. Discharge of stored sewage from a holding tank is tied to a ship en route at 4 knots or more, which a unit on station cannot meet, so a drilling unit normally relies on a treatment plant.
MARPOL Annex V for garbage
Fixed and floating platforms more than 12 nautical miles from land, and ships alongside or within 500 m of them, may discharge only food waste ground to pass a 25 mm screen. All other garbage, including plastics, cooking oil, packaging, glass, metal and incinerator ash, goes ashore. Every platform must display garbage placards, carry a garbage management plan and keep a Garbage Record Book, whatever its size.
MARPOL Annex VI for incinerators
Regulation 16 requires every incinerator installed since 1 January 2000 to hold IMO type approval to MEPC.76(40) or MEPC.244(66), and bans burning garbage outside an approved incinerator. Annex VI applies to platforms, although it exempts emissions arising directly from drilling and production.
Potable water hygiene
ISO 15748 covers the design and operation of potable water supply on ships and marine structures. The WHO Guide to Ship Sanitation sets the practice for disinfection and Legionella control, including hot water stored at 60 °C (140 °F) or above. Where the flag applies the MLC, Regulation 3.2 adds drinking water quality to the flag's inspections.
Integration across the group
- Size every system for the maximum persons on board, including flotel or extra module berths, not the normal crew.
- Do not mix vacuum and gravity parts. A vacuum toilet needs a vacuum line and generator, and a vacuum food waste system needs its own collection tank.
- Match grinder and vacuum system outputs to the treatment plant's hydraulic and organic load.
- Check the electrical supply on every nameplate, and the hazardous area rating for anything on open deck.
Sourcing used life support equipment
Vacuum toilet systems, grinders, compactors and balers are built from standard wear parts and refurbish well. Incinerators and treatment plants are worth buying used only when the type approval certificate names the model and the record of service is complete. Anything that has held drinking water needs cleaning and disinfection before reuse, so unused surplus is the safer choice there. Naventr answers questions from the Seller's records and can arrange an inspection on request.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What MARPOL rules apply to sewage and garbage on a drilling rig?
Sewage falls under MARPOL Annex IV and garbage under Annex V, and MARPOL treats fixed and floating platforms as ships. Annex IV calls for an approved treatment plant, a comminuting and disinfecting system or a holding tank. Annex V lets platforms beyond 12 nautical miles discharge only food waste ground to 25 mm.
Do offshore platforms need a Garbage Record Book?
Yes. MARPOL Annex V requires every fixed or floating platform to keep a Garbage Record Book, carry a garbage management plan and display placards, whatever its size. Each discharge or incineration goes in the book with date, time, position, category and estimated amount, and the book is kept for two years.
What effluent standard must a new sewage treatment plant meet?
Plants installed on or after 1 January 2016 must be type approved to IMO resolution MEPC.227(64). The limits are 100 thermotolerant coliforms per 100 ml, 35 mg/l suspended solids, 25 mg/l BOD5, 125 mg/l COD and pH 6 to 8.5, with nutrient limits only for passenger ships in special areas.
How should life support equipment be sized for a rig?
Size it for the maximum persons on board the unit is certified for, not the normal crew. Toilets, calorifiers, food waste systems, compactors and the sewage treatment plant all see peak load when extra berths or a flotel are in use.
Is used sanitation and waste equipment worth buying?
Often yes for vacuum toilet systems, grinders, compactors and balers, which run on standard wear parts. Incinerators and treatment plants need type approval certificates naming the model. Potable water parts need cleaning and disinfection before reuse, which makes unused surplus the better buy for them.
Looking for life support systems?
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