Ballast Water
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        Ballast Water Management                           at IMO

Last revised: May 6, 2005 (Papers added)

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February 23 & March 25, 2005 (Papers added)
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Introduction and Background

This web page briefly describes Ballast Water Management activites at IMO that may be of interest to SNAME members.

IMO is organized into various committees and sub-committees that specialize in different aspects of ship design, marine equipment, operations, mariner training, etc. For Ballast Water Management issues, the most relevent committees and sub-committees are:   
   * Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)
* Maritime Safety Committee (MSC)
* Sub-Committees on:
        – Bulk Liquids and Gases (BLG)
        – Ship Design and Equipment (DE)
        – Stability, Load Lines, and on Fishing Vessel Safety (SLF)
        – Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW)

   

Ballast Water Management at IMO Page Index:

MSC and MEPC Circulars Special IMO News Current IMO activities:
   Guideline Development
   Review of the Convention
Selected Committee Reports and Papers

MSC and MEPC Circulars

The Maritime Safety (MSC) and the Marine Environment Protection (MEPC) Committees issue circulars to assist Administrations and others in interpreting the Conventions, Codes and guidelines.

Contact - Kathy Moore

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Special IMO News

New IMO Convention on Ballast Water Management

On February 13, 2004, IMO adopted a new Convention concerning management of ballast water: the "International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments." The new Convention will enter into force 12 months after it has been ratified by at least 30 countries representing at least 35 percent of the world merchant shipping tonnage.

The IMO press release for the new ballast water Convention has a good discussion on its significant aspects.

Contact - Kathy Moore

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Current IMO activities

Current IMO activities are discussed; these will be periodically updated to reflect decisions and actions of the committees and sub-committees.

BW Convention Guidelines

Since the adoption of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention in February of 2004, work has continued on the development of guidelines to support the Convention. The priority guidelines are those that will be most critical as the implementation dates of the Convention draw near. As a result, guidelines on approving ballast water management systems, active substances and the practice of ballast water exchange on ships have received the most attention thus far. In addition, there will be a review of the Convention at MEPC 53 in accordance with Regulation D-5 of the Convention.

The most recemt papers submitted to date on this subject are:

Paper No. Submitted by: Title
DE 48/17 Brazil Need for a questionnaire on key information regarding Ballast Water Management Systems
DE 48/17/1 Brazil Need to carry out full scale shipboard tests on a limited number of ships representative of the world merchant fleet
DE 48/17/2 Japan Comments to the draft Guidelines for approval of Ballast Water Management Systems (G8) in document MEPC 52/WP.7
FSI 13/13 United Kingdom Development of Survey Guidelines Required by Regulation E-1 for the 2004 BWM Convention
BLG 9/11 SEC Draft Guidelines for Ballast Water Management and the development of Ballast Water Management Plans
BLG 9/11/1 ISAF Draft Guidelines for Ballast Water Management equivalent compliance (F3)
BLG 9/11/2 Germany Draft Guidelines for Ballast Water sampling
BLG 9/11/3 UK Draft Guidelines for sediment and ballast water reception facilities
BLG 9/11/4 UK Draft Guidelines for sediment control on ships
BLG 9/11/5 UK Draft Guidelines for ballast water exchange design and constructions standards
BLG 9/11/6 UK Draft Guidelines for ballast water exchange
BLG 9/11/7 UK, ICS and INTERTANKO Draft Guidelines for ballast water management and the development of ballast water management plans (G4)
BLG 9/11/8 Brazil Comments and proposals for improvements to the draft guidelines on ballast water sampling
BLG 9/11/9 Brazil Comments and proposals for improvements to the draft Guidelines for ballast water management and the development of ballast water management plans (G4) and to the draft Guidelines on ballast water risk assessment
BLG 9/11/10 Australia Comments on the draft Guidelines for ballast water management and the development of ballast water manageemnt plans (G4)
BLG 9/11/11 Singapore Comments on the draft Guidelines for ballast water sampling (G2)
BLG 9/11/12 Singapore Procedure for approval of prototype ballast water treatment technologies (G10)
BLG 9/11/13 United States Comments on draft Guidelines on ballast water sampling (G2)
BLG 9/11/14 United States Comments on draft Guidelines on ballast water management equivalent compliance (G3)
MEPC 53/1 SEC Adoption of the Agenda
MEPC 53/2 SEC Draft Guidelines for the approval of Ballast Water Management Systems
MEPC 53/2/1 SEC Draft Procedures for the approval of Ballast Water Management Systems that make use of Active Substances
MEPC 53/2/2 SEC Recommendations for the Conduct of the Review of the Status of the Ballast Water Management Technologies set by Regulation D-5 of the Ballast Water Management Convention
MEPC 53/2/3 SEC Transitory non-compliance when conditioning ballast water exchange
MEPC 53/2/4 Germany Comments on Guidelines for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems
MEPC 53/2/5 SEC Draft Guidelines for ballast water exchange design and construction standards (G11)
MEPC 53/2/6 Swedeb Information to be considered by the Review Group
MEPC 53/2/7 Germany Guidelines for Ballast Water Sampling (G2)
MEPC 53/2/8 SEC Outcome of FSI 13 on Ballast Water Management-related matters
MEPC 53/2/9 SEC Draft Guidelines for ballast water management and the development of ballast water management plans (G4)
MEPC 53/2/10 SEC DRecommendations on ballast water risk assessment exemptions relevant to Guidelines (G7) and Regulation A-4 of the Ballast Water Management Convention
MEPC 53/2/11 Germany Documentation of Ballast Water Management Systems in Germany
MEPC 53/2/14 US Submission to support the review of the availability of appropriate technologies to meet the requirements of the Convention
MEPC 53/2/16 Norway Information on Ballast Water Management systems to be considered by the Review Group

Contact - Kathy Moore


Committee and Sub-Committee Reports and Selected Papers

Below are listed selected papers for the most recent meeting sessions of those IMO committees and sub-committees that work on ballast water management. The annotated agendas present the specific agenda items for that session, the working papers report on the deliberations of the working groups during the session, and the reports summarize the decisions and future action of the subcommittee. Other papers of particular interest are also listed.

Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC)

Copies of these papers may also be obtained by e-mail request.

Contact - Kathy Moore

Paper Title
MEPC 52/1/1 Annotated Agenda for MEPC 52
MEPC 52/24 Final Report for MEPC 52
MEPC 52/2 Guidelines associated with the Ballast Water Management Convention(UK)
MEPC 52/2/1 Draft Guidelines for ballast water sampling (G2) (Germany)
MEPC 52/2/2 Draft Guidelines for the ballast water management equivalent compliance (ISAF)
MEPC 52/2/3 Self-validating e-ballast water reporting form (India)
MEPC 52/2/4 Draft guidelines to the BWM Convention (Norway)
MEPC 52/2/5 Draft Guidelines for approval of ballast water management systems (G8) (Netherlands)
MEPC 52/2/6 Progress on the development of a procedure for approval of Active Substances (G9) (Germany, Japan and the Netherlands)
MEPC 52/2/7 Quantitative analytical methods of bacteria used for test-bed testing: Proposal for development of the guidelines for approval of ballast water management systems (Japan)
MEPC 52/2/8 Quantitative analytical methods of organisms used for test-bed testing: proposal for development of the guidelines for approval of ballast water management systems (Japan)
MEPC 52/2/9 Minimum conentration of indicator organisms in test water for test-bed tests: proposal for development of guidelines for approval of ballast water management systems (Japan)
MEPC 52/2/10 A procedure for the approval of ballast water management systems (US)
MEPC 52/2/11 Transitory deviations from MARPOL when conducting ballast water exchange (IACS)
MEPC 52/2/12 Transitory non-compliance when conducting ballast water exchange (UK)
MEPC 52/2/13 Submission guidance for the Regulation D-5 Review (US)
MEPC 52/2/14 Comments on draft Guidelines on the introduction of Additional Measures including Emergency Situations (US)
MEPC 52/2/15 Comments on prototype treatment system approval guidelines (US)
MEPC 52/2/16 Comments on the draft outline of guidelines on risk assessment (US)
MEPC 52/2/17 Automatic ballast water exchange - patented technology (Saudi Arabia)
MEPC 52/INF.3 Compliance with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Dominica)
MEPC 52/INF.5 Protocols for testing ballast water treatment systems under the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program (US)
MEPC 52/INF.8 Risk Assessment methodology development by GloBallast (SEC)
MEPC 52/INF.9 Ballast water management country profiles database (SEC)
MEPC 52/INF.11 Background information on the use of natural sea water and automated analysis methodologies for type approval testing (Netherlands)
MEPC 52/INF.13 Second International Ballast Water Management Conference and Technology Exhibition, 19-21 May 2004, Singapore (Singapore)
MEPC 52/INF.14 The Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program (STEP) (US)
MEPC 52/INF.16 GloBallast Program activities in Brazil (Brazil)
MEPC 52/WP.7 Report of the Ballast Water Working Group (BWWG)
MEPC 49/2 Consideration of GESAMP's advise on ballast water matters (Brazil)
MEPC 49/2/1 Draft International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Equador, Honduras, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela)
MEPC 49/2/2 Harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water (Brazil)
MEPC 49/2/3 Report of the Second Intersessional Meeting of the MEPC Ballast Water Working Group (BWWG)
MEPC 49/2/4 Assessment of the efficacy of ballast water exchange (Brazil)
MEPC 49/2/5 Phased in implementation of ballast water standards (US)
MEPC 49/2/6 Concept of the continuation of the IMO/UNDP/GEF project "Ballast Water Management" (GloBallast) (SEC)
MEPC 49/2/7 Draft International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (ISAF)
MEPC 49/2/8 Guidelines for ballast water exchange (UK)
MEPC 49/2/9 Proposal for the Standardization of indicators for the assessment of the microbiological quality of ballast water (Brazil)
MEPC 49/2/10 Comments on the Draft Text of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Italy)
MEPC 49/2/11 Standards for ballast water exchange (IACS)
MEPC 49/2/12 Input for development of guidelines for sampling ballast water (India)
MEPC 49/2/13 Ballast water treatment comments to MEPC-IBWWG 2/3(IUCN, FOEI, and WWF)
MEPC 49/2/14 Draft International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments: Principles of the Convention (Netherlands and Singapore)
MEPC 49/2/15 Type approval procedure for ballast water treatment systems (Netherlands)
MEPC 49/2/16 The use of chemical or biocidal treatment options (Netherlands)
MEPC 49/2/17 Proposals for the improvement of the Draft Convention (Brazil)
MEPC 49/2/18 Additional Outstanding Issues (US)
MEPC 49/2/19 Proposal for modification of Regulation E-2 Ballast Water Performance Standard (Norway)
MEPC 49/2/20 Proposal for modification of Regulation A-4 and development of guidelines on assessment of risk related to discharge of unmanaged ballast water (Norway)
MEPC 49/2/21 Comments on Draft Regulation E-2; concentrations of organisms delivered in ships' ballast water in the absence of any treatment establishing a baseline for consideration of treatment efficacy (ICES)
MEPC 49/2/22 Comments on the draft Convention (ICS)
MEPC 49/2/23 Draft guidelines for development of ballast water management plans (ICS)
MEPC 49/2/24 Proposal for draft guidelines for type approval of ballast water management systems (Norway)
MEPC 49/2/25 Ballast Water Performance Standard (Japan)
MEPC 49/2/26 Comments on the draft Convention (Japan)
MEPC 49/2/27 Guidelines for type approval of ballast water management system (Japan)
MEPC 49/2/28 Ballast Water Exchange (Japan)
MEPC 49/2/29 Proposal for Sampling of Ships' Ballast Water (Japan)
MEPC 49/2/30 Equivalent Compliance for Recreational Vessels (Israel)
MEPC 49/2/31 Ships Unable to Conduct Ballast Water Exchange due to Time/Route Constraints (Israel)
MEPC 49/2/32 Draft Conference Resolution on Promotion of Technical Co-operation (SEC)
MEPC 49/INF.6 Draft International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments: Text in "Strike-out" Version (SEC)
MEPC 49/INF.9 R&D Project to Develop Ballast Water Treatment Techniques on Board Vessels (Germany)
MEPC 49/INF.16 European CommissionMitigation Measures for Ballast Water Management: Results and Recommendations from the EU co-funded project SEAM (EC)
MEPC 49/INF.17 Treatment and Management of Ballast Water to Control Introduction of Non-indigenous Species (On-board Treatment of Ballast Water): Results and Recommendations from the EU Co-funded Project MARTOB (EC)
MEPC 49/INF.26 Remarks on Ballast Water Management by Ships (Brazil)
MEPC 49/INF.27 GloBallast Program Activities in India(India)
MEPC 49/INF.28 Ballast Water Background Paper by the Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms, May 2003, edited by Dr. Gustaaf Hallengraeff (IOC of UNESCO)
MEPC 49/INF.29 Results of a R&D project on the development of a ballast water treatment plant (Germany)
MEPC 49/INF.32 Status Report on Globallast Program Activities (Ukraine)
MEPC 49/INF.36 Development of International Guidelines and Standards for Surveys and Monitoring of Invasive Aquatic Species in Port Areas(SEC)

International Maritime Organization Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships

BWM Convention Text

Paper Title
BWM/CONF/1 Agenda for Diplomatic Conference (SEC)
BWM/CONF/2 Draft Text of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (SEC)
BWM/CONF/3 Provisional Rules of Procedure for the International Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships (SEC)
BWM/CONF/4 Comments on the Draft Text of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (AWES)
BWM/CONF/5 Work Program and Schedule of Meetings (SEC)
BWM/CONF/6 Draft Conference Resolution on Promotion of Technical Co-operation (SEC)
BWM/CONF/7 Considerations of the Draft International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Colombia)
BWM/CONF/8 Comments and Proposals on the Draft Convention (Croatia)
BWM/CONF/9 Comments on the Draft Convention (as contained in BWM/CONF/2) (UN-DOALOS)
BWM/CONF/10 Draft Conference Resolution on Future Work by the Organization concerning the Development of Guidelines in Support of the Convention (SEC)
BWM/CONF/11 Draft Conference Resolution on the Use of Decision-making Tools for Review of the Standards in Accordance with Regulation D-5 prior to the Entry into Force of the Convention (SEC)
BWM/CONF/12 Outstanding Issues (US)
BWM/CONF/13 Ballast Water Management for Ships - Regulation B-3 (US)
BWM/CONF/14 Ballast Water Discharge Standards - Regulation D-2 (US)
BWM/CONF/15 Comments on the Draft Convention (as contained in BWM/CONF/2) (UK)
BWM/CONF/16 Proposal for Modification of Regulations A-4 and C-1, and Draft Guidelines on Assessment of Exemptions and Introduction of Additional Measures (Norway)
BWM/CONF/17 Proposal for Modification of Regulation D-1 Ballast Water Exchange Standard and Regulation D-2 Ballast Water Performance Standard (Norway)
BWM/CONF/18 Comments on the Draft Convention (Netherlands)
BWM/CONF/19 Responsible use of Chemicals for Biocidal Ballast Water Treatment (Netherlands)
BWM/CONF/20 Advice on the Development of the "Guide to Ship Sanitation" and "International Health Regulations" (World Health Organization (WHO))
BWM/CONF/21 Comments on the Draft International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Norway)
BWM/CONF/22 Comments on the Draft Text of the Convention (ICS)
BWM/CONF/23 Comments and Proposals on the Draft Convention (Japan)
BWM/CONF/24 Comments on the Draft Convention (BWM/CONF/2) (Germany)
BWM/CONF/25 Comments on Regulation B-3 (Ballast Water Management for Ships) (Germany)
BWM/CONF/26 Proposal Regarding Performance Standard (Regulation D-2) (Germany)
BWM/CONF/27 Promotion of Technical Cooperation (Brazil)
BWM/CONF/28 Comments on the Draft Text of the Convention (Denmark)
BWM/CONF/29 Proposal for the Modification of Regulations A-1.4 and B-3.4.3 of the Draft International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Croatia, Italy, and Slovenia)
BWM/CONF/30 Proposal Concerning Entry into Force (Article 18.1) (Mexico)
BWM/CONF/31 Proposed Text for Article 16 of the Convention (Turkey)
BWM/CONF/32 Comments on the Draft Text of the Convention (Liberia)
BWM/CONF/33 Rev.1 Consideration of the Reports of the Committees: Credentials Committee
BWM/CONF/34 Comments on the Draft Text of the Convention (Liberia)
BWM/CONF/35 Proposal Concerning Entry into Force (Article 18.1) (Norway)
BWM/CONF/36 Text Adopted by the Conference International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004
BWM/CONF/37 Text Adopted by the Conference Final Act of the International Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships, 2004
BWM/CONF/INF.1 List of Participants
BWM/CONF/INF.2 Report of the Informal Working Group on Ballast Water Performance Standard (Brazil)
BWM/CONF/INF.3 Source Regions of Ballast Water Sampled During the Various Shipping Studies Considered when Preparing Document MEPC 49/2/21 (ICES)
BWM/CONF/INF.4 Guidelines for the Design, Construction, and Operation of Ships that use Ballast Water Exchange (UK)
BWM/CONF/INF.5 Progress on the Development of a Procedure for the Approval of Ballast Water Treatment Systems (Netherlands)
BWM/CONF/INF.6 Proposed Structure for the Development of Guidelines on Ballast Water Treatment Systems (Brazil)
BWM/CONF/INF.7 Information on the Relationship Between Actual Navigation Routes and Ballast Water Exchange Areas (Japan)
BWM/CONF/INF.8 Opening Statement by the Secretary-General

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