The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) formally initiated its investigation of pending Canadian ballast water regulations alleged to be unfavorable and detrimental to US flag Laker vessels.
Following China’s extension of the treaty to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, ships flagged to Hong Kong will now be required to apply the requirements of the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM).
During the 2020 GREEN4SEA Athens Forum, Mr. Andreas Kokkotos, Partner, ARGO NAVIS Engineers Ltd., explained that confusion with owners’ supplied items can result misunderstandings, delays or even to missing equipment. In light of the situation, Mr. Kokkotos highlighted the reasons why the crew must be familiar with convention requirements before the ship leaves the shipyard.
During the 2020 GREEN4SEA Athens Forum, Dr. Efi Tsolaki, Chief Scientific Officer, ERMA FIRST S.A. highlighted that invasive aquatic species are a major threat to the marine ecosystems, and shipping has been identified as a vital pathway for introducing species to new environments.
Managing cost, digitalization and environmental regulations are some of the key challenges shipping will have to encounter in the next 5-10 years, industry experts said on the sidelines of the latest SAFETY4SEA Athens Forum, which took place in Eugenides Foundation on 2 October.
Amendments to an international treaty aiming to prevent the spread of potentially invasive species in ships’ ballast water entered into force on 13 October 2019. The amendments set out an implementation schedule to make sure that ships manage their ballast water to meet a specified standard (D-2 standard).
Singapore flagged vessels should bare in mind recent MPA Singapore circulars, regarding the commissioning testing of ballast water management systems (BWMS) and the incorporation of contingency measures into ballast water management plans (BWMP).
Since steel-ships were introduced to shipping, water has been used as ballast to stabilize vessels at sea. However, ballast water can contain organisms, which when transferred, are able to establish a reproductive population, thus becoming invasive. For this reason, IMO has established the “International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments”, mandating the implementation of ballast water management plan and ballast water treatment system on board ships.
The IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention entered into force in 2017, but at that time it applied only to new ships. Now, as the North P&I Club informs, a new milestone is upon us, as from 8 September 2019, the Convention applies to existing vessels.
After 15 years, the BWM Convention is coming into full effect from this September. At the same time, across the Atlantic, important developments have also been taking place in relation to the USCG’s BWM regulation. The UK Club issued a Legal Briefing, summarizing some of the more significant developments associated to the two regulations.
