The Gard P&I Club has issued alert to highlight that preparatory work to ensure timely compliance with IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention should not be postponed as it is thought the convention will soon be ratified by a sufficient number of states to pass the entry into force tonnage threshold.
The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments(the Ballast Water Management or BWM Convention) was adopted by the IMO in February 2004 and is set to enter into force 12 months after ratification by 30 states, representing 35 per cent of the world’s merchant shipping tonnage. The number of ratifications currently stands at 51, representing 34.87 per cent of the world fleet tonnage, and the maritime industry therefore considers it likely that the BWM Convention will soon be ratified by states having sufficient tonnage to pass the tonnage threshold.
Key requirements
The BWM Convention will apply to all ships and offshore structures that carry ballast water and are engaged in international voyages. Upon its entry into force, shipowners and operator must ensure that:
- an approved ballast water management plan is available and implemented onboard;
- all shipboard ballast operations are carried out according to the plan and with due regard to thesafety of the vessel, e.g. by exchanging ballast mid-ocean, treating it onboard before discharge or discharging it to a reception facility/barge;
- a competent officer is assigned to ballast water management and the officer and crew are trained in order to carry out their respective duties;
- a ballast water record book is available onboard and is kept up to date at all times; and
- a vessel of 400 gross tonnes and above, is surveyed and issued with an international ballast water management certificate.
The Convention imposes a challenging ballast water discharge standard which will be phased in over a period of time. The exchange of ballast water mid-ocean is an intermediate solution and most vessels will need to install an approved ballast water treatment system eventually.
Compliance schedule
In April 2016, at its 69th session, the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) approved draft amendments to regulation B-3 of the BWM Convention setting out deadlines for the installation of type approved ballast water treatment systems onboard vessels. It is understood that, in principle, MEPC maintains the decision given in Resolution A.1088(28) and that a vessel’s date of compliance will be determined by her construction date and the date of her IOPP (International Oil Pollution Prevention certificate issued under MARPOL Annex I) renewal survey. Hence, once the date of the BWM Convention’s entry into force (EIF) has been set:
- vessels constructed (keel laid) before EIF must comply by first IOPP renewal survey after this date; and
- vessels constructed (keel laid) at or after EIF must comply at delivery.
According to the MEPC 69 meeting summary, the draft amended regulation B-3 will be held in abeyance and circulated upon entry into force of the BWM Convention for subsequent adoption.
Recommendations Operators planning to install a ballast water treatment system are advised to start the preparatory work as soon as possible. Although, in most cases, a vessel must be taken out of service for the period of installation, proper planning of the installation period well in advance can save time and money, especially if the installation can coincide with a scheduled dry docking. Some of the key elements of the preparatory work will be to: Once a ballast water treatment system solution has been selected, officers and crew must be properly trained and be competent to carry out their assigned ballast water management duties and functions. Procedures for training and familiarisation for the BWM Convention should be incorporated in the company’s safety management system (SMS) and should include, but not be limited to, the following:
Source & Image credit: Gard P&I Club
