Which statement best describes the purpose of the Oil Record Book under Annex I?

• A. It records oil-related activities, including discharges and other operational events.
• B. It tracks crew medical supplies.
• C. It records weather data.
• D. It records port calls and vessel speed.

Answer: (A)

The Oil Record Book under Annex I is all about logging oil-related activities on the ship so there’s a clear, verifiable trail of what happened with oil on board. It records operations that involve oil or could lead to oil discharges—things like cargo transfer, ballast changes from oily mixtures, and the discharge or treatment of oily water from separators and tank cleaning. This structured record helps ensure compliance with MARPOL Annex I and gives authorities a way to check whether any discharges were within permitted limits or were illicit. Other topics, such as crew medical supplies, weather data, or port calls and vessel speed, are not part of this log and are documented in different records.