Korean Register (KR) informs that when managing ballast water in ports with Challenging Water Quality (CWQ) under the BWM Convention, it should be done according to pre-planned procedures.
This plan should be established within the ship’s Ballast Water Management Plan (BWMP), considering the OMSM (Operation, Maintenance and Safety Manual) of the ship-specific BWMS, in consultation with the BWMS manufacturer, and by referring to this guidance and the flowchart below.
CWQ refers to ambient uptake water having quality parameters (including but not limited to high total suspended solids or turbidity) that cause a BWMS to be temporarily inoperable due to an operational limitation or an inability to meet operational demand. However, temperature and salinity are not parameters that define CWQ.
Therefore, the procedures for ballast water management in CWQ ports should be incorporated into the ship’s BWMP. In principle, reflecting CWQ procedures in the BWMP does not require re-approval. However, if there are any instructions from Administration, it should be followed.
In principle, bypass operations are not recommended. As a last resort, only the minimum safe amount required for the vessel’s safety should be bypassed since uptake of ballast water bypassing BWMS is likely to contaminate ballast tanks and piping systems with harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens that pose a risk to the environment, human health, property, and resources.
For “reactive bypass” operations, prior consultation with the flag Administration or the port Authority of the current and next port of call is not required. However, any discharge of ballast water from tanks where untreated water was taken in by bypass operation and exchanged with treated water should be reported to the receiving port State before arrival. Additionally, any deviation from the procedures in this Guidance or the BWMP should be noted in the communication.
Reactive bypass means a bypass undertaken during a ballasting operation upon reaching an operational limitation or encountering an inability to meet operational demand.
“Pre-emptive bypass” operations should be discouraged. However, if appropriate, it can be done in specified ports or locations only after prior agreement with the flag Administration and the receiving port State. Detailed procedures should be documented in the BWMP.
Pre-emptive bypass means a BWMS bypass undertaken, prior to or during a ballasting operation, in anticipation of reaching an operational limitation or encountering an inability to meet operational demand.
If a bypass operation is undertaken, affected ballast water tanks and/or piping should be decontaminated (BWE+BWT) to comply with D-2 standard at subsequent discharge locations. In principle, ballast water should be exchanged in waters compliant with B-4.1 regulations.
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