Oily water separator
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An Oily water separator (OWS) is a piece of shipboard equipment that allows a vessel's crew to separate oil from bilge water before the bilge water is discharged overboard.
Bilge water is an almost unavoidable product in ship operations. Bilge water that is generated in proximity to shipboard equipment (such as in the engine room) often contains oil. Direct discharge of this water would result in undesirable transfer of waste oil to the marine environment. By international agreement under the MARPOL convention, most commercial vessels need to be fitted with an oily water separator to remove oil contaminants before bilge water is pumped overboard.
Oily water separator equipment has been a shipboard requirement since the 1970's but recently it has become evident that oily water separators have not been as effective as had been assumed and actual, and alleged, improper operation (sometimes called a Magic Pipe) of this equipment by shipboard crews has resulted in criminal prosecutions of engine room crew members in the United States and to a lesser extent in Europe.
