Equivalent

An equivalent is an alternative fitting, material, appliance, or method that an Administration may accept under MARPOL Article 4(3) (commonly cited as the equivalents provision and restated in each annex, for example Annex VI Regulation 4). The arrangement must be at least as effective as the regulation it replaces in reducing pollution. The most common application is an exhaust gas cleaning system (scrubber) accepted as equivalent to using compliant low-sulphur fuel under Annex VI Regulation 14, approved against the 2021 EGCS Guidelines (MEPC.340(77)). The Administration must notify the IMO of any equivalent it permits.