The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Ballast Water Management Convention or BWM Convention) is a 2004 international maritime treaty which requires signatory

flag state The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed, and is deemed the nationality of the vessel. A merchant vessel must be registered and can only be registered in one jurisdiction, but ma ...

s to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with standards and procedures for the management and control of ships'

ballast water Ballast is used in ships to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the hull. Insufficiently ballasted boats tend to tip or heel excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the vessel capsizing. If a sailing vessel needs to voy ...

and sediments. The Convention aims to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms from one region to another and halt damage to the marine environment from ballast water discharge, by minimising the uptake and subsequent discharge of sediments and organisms. From 2024, all ships are required to have approved Ballast Water Management Treatment System, according to the D2 standard (see below). Existing ships are required to install an approved system, which may cost up to 5 million USD per ship to install. To assist with implementation, the IMO has released 14 Guidance documents in regards to the Convention including the G2 Guidelines for Ballast Water Sampling, G4 Guidelines for Ballast Water management and G6 Guidelines for Ballast Water Exchange. As of 15 July 2021, 86 countries were contracting States to the BWM Convention (representing 91.12% of the gross tonnage of the global merchant fleet).

Development and entry into force

The first scientifically recognised occurrence of a non-indigenous marine species being transported in ships water occurred in the North Sea in 1903, with the Asian phytoplankton Odontella appearing. The issue became more prevalent with the increase in shipping in the late 20th century and the issue was raised for the first time at the IMO in 1988. Following several years of development, the Convention was adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 2004. To enter into force, the Convention required ratification by a minimum of 30 States, representing 35% of world merchant shipping tonnage, subject to which it would enter into force 12 months later. On 8 September 2016,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

acceded to the Convention, bringing the contracting states to 52 and the combined tonnage of States to 35.14%. This triggered the applicability of the entry into force date of the Convention, which occurred on 8 September 2017. Since Finland's accession, a number of States have continued to ratify the treaty. By November 2018 there were 78 contracting States, representing 77.19 per cent of world merchant shipping tonnage. By September 2020, 79 countries had joined the Convention.

Requirements of the Convention

All international sea going ships under the Convention must implement a ‘Ballast water management plan’ that enables the ship to manage their ballast water and sediment discharge to a certain standard. The plan is designed to meet the requirements for compliance with the Convention and the G4 Guidelines produced by the IMO. It includes standard operational guidance, planning and management, as well as additional details including sampling points and systems. Additionally all ships over 400GT must also carry a ballast water record book that details such requirements as the filling and discharge of each tank, according to time, date, location and the treatment applied to the water. Ships that comply with the Convention will receive and are duly required to carry an international ballast water management certificate. To receive a certificate, a ship will have to supply the necessary documentation showing compliance with the Convention and a survey will be carried out on-board. A survey may be carried out by a flag State, or by a Classification Society who have been authorised by a flag State. The convention is monitored by Port State Control, who must assess the ballast water management plan and its operation on the ship.

Standards

Under the Convention, ships are required, according to a timetable of implementation, to comply with the D1 or D2 standards. The D1 standard requires ships to carry out a ballast water exchange, and specifies the volume of water that must be replaced. This standard involves exchanging the uptaken discharge water from the last port, with new sea water; it must occur at a minimum of 200 nautical miles from shore. The D2 standard is more stringent and requires the use of an approved ballast water treatment system. The system must ensure that only small levels of viable organisms remain left in water after treatment so as to minimise the

environmental impact of shipping The environmental effects of shipping include air pollution, water pollution, acoustic, and oil pollution. Ships are responsible for more than 18 percent of some air pollutants. As for greenhouse gas emissions, the International Maritime Orga ...

. New ships will be required to install and comply with the D2 standard from the 8th September 2017, once the Convention has entered into force. Existing ships, who are subject to the phased implementation schedule, have potentially (depending on the renewal of their ship certificates) until the 8th September 2024, by which time all ships will comply with the D2 standard. It is also possible for ships to discharge ballast at approved shore reception facilities in

ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, as article 5 requires that when cleaning or repair of a ships ballast tanks occurs, ports should have adequate reception facilities for the sediments. Facilities must include safe disposal arrangements, storage and treatment equipment, safe and suitable mooring and emergency arrangements and the necessary reducers for connections to ships.Anwar & Churcher, p.167 Some ships may be exempted from complying with the Convention, according to certain conditions and the appropriate permission being given by a flag State. These include ships trading in a limited area, small vessels including

sailboats A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

and fishing vessels, vessels only operating on one coast and also

FPSO A floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry for the production and processing of hydrocarbons, and for the storage of oil. An FPSO vessel is designed to receive h ...

Bibliography

*N. Anwar & Dr. L. Churcher, ''Ballast Water Management: Understanding the regulations and the treatment technologies available'', 7th Edition,

Witherby Publishing Group Witherby Publishing Group, formerly known as Witherby Seamanship, is a technical publisher of maritime, nautical and navigation training, reference and regulatory materials. The company is the resulting merger of Witherby Books and Seamansh ...

, 2016.

References

External links

Text

Official website

Implementing the Ballast Water Management Convention

Status of ratifications
{{Ports and harbors International Maritime Organization treaties Admiralty law treaties Treaties concluded in 2004 Treaties entered into force in 2017 Treaties of Albania Treaties of Antigua and Barbuda Treaties of Argentina Treaties of Australia Treaties of the Bahamas Treaties of Bangladesh Treaties of Barbados Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Brazil Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Canada Treaties of China Treaties of the Republic of the Congo Treaties of the Cook Islands Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Egypt Treaties of Estonia Treaties of Fiji Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of Germany Treaties of Ghana Treaties of Greece Treaties of Grenada Treaties of Honduras Treaties of Indonesia Treaties of Iran Treaties of Jamaica Treaties of Japan Treaties of Jordan Treaties of Kenya Treaties of Kiribati Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of Liberia Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Madagascar Treaties of Malaysia Treaties of the Maldives Treaties of Malta Treaties of the Marshall Islands Treaties of Mexico Treaties of Mongolia Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Morocco Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Nigeria Treaties of Niue Treaties of Norway Treaties of Palau Treaties of Panama Treaties of Peru Treaties of the Philippines Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Qatar Treaties of Russia Treaties of Saint Kitts and Nevis Treaties of Saint Lucia Treaties of Saudi Arabia Treaties of Serbia Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Sierra Leone Treaties of Singapore Treaties of South Africa Treaties of South Korea Treaties of Spain Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of Syria Treaties of Togo Treaties of Tonga Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago Treaties of Turkey Treaties of Tuvalu Treaties of the United Arab Emirates Treaties extended to the Caribbean Netherlands Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands