395. Providing you are not in a special area, such as the Mediterranean or Red Sea, how many nautical miles from land must you be to throw packing materials that will float into the sea to be in compliance with MARPOL Regulations?

MARPOL regulations prohibit the discharge of floating packing materials into the sea, regardless of distance from land. Current regulations, as implemented in the U.S. by 33 CFR 151, supersede previous rules that may have allowed discharge beyond a certain distance; therefore, discharge is always prohibited.