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.
The BWM Convention will apply to all ships and offshore structures that carry ballast water and are engaged in international voyages.
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.
Members and clients 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.