🔍 Key Concepts

• Oil Record Book retention requirements under MARPOL and U.S. regulations • Difference between international voyages and coastwise trade requirements • Where recordkeeping time limits (in months/years) are usually found in 33 CFR or 46 CFR

💭 Think About

• Is the required retention period for the Oil Record Book usually short-term like log entries, or more like official documents that must be available for audits and investigations? • Think about how far back Port State Control or Coast Guard might reasonably want to review oil transfer/discharge history on a coastwise vessel. • Have you seen similar questions about record retention (e.g., garbage records, SOPEP, stability records)? How many months or years were those usually kept?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify the specific CFR citation that covers Oil Record Book retention, not just general logbooks. • Check whether the rule talks about retaining the last X years of entries on board, then convert that to months. • Confirm that the requirement is the same for coastwise trade vessels as for those on international voyages, unless explicitly stated otherwise.