International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM)

Adoption: 13 February 2004; Entry into force: 12 months after ratification by 30 States, representing 35 per cent of world merchant shipping tonnage

The Convention aims to prevent the potentially devastating effects of the spread of harmful aquatic organisms carried by ships' ballast water from one region to another.

The Convention will require all ships to implement a Ballast Water and Sediments Management Plan. All ships will have to carry a Ballast Water Record Book and will be required to

carry out ballast water management procedures to a given standard. Existing ships will be required to do the same, but after a phase-in period.

Parties to the Convention are given the option to take additional measures which are subject to criteria set out in the Convention and to IMO guidelines

The Convention is divided into Articles; and an Annex which includes technical standards and requirements in the Regulations for the control and management of ships' ballast water and

sediments.

General Obligations

Under Article 2 General Obligations Parties undertake to give full and complete effect to the provisions of the Convention and the Annex in order to prevent, minimize and ultimately

eliminate the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through the control and management of ships' ballast water and sediments.

Parties are given the right to take, individually or jointly with other Parties, more stringent measures with respect to the prevention, reduction or elimination of the transfer of harmful

aquatic organisms and pathogens through the control and management of ships' ballast water and sediments, consistent with international law. Parties should ensure that ballast water

management practices do not cause greater harm than they prevent to their environment, human health, property or resources, or those of other States.

Reception facilities

Under Article 5 Sediment Reception Facilities Parties undertake to ensure that ports and terminals where cleaning or repair of ballast tanks occurs, have adequate reception facilities for

the reception of sediments.

Research and monitoring

Article 6 Scientific and Technical Research and Monitoring calls for Parties individually or jointly to promote and facilitate scientific and technical research on ballast water management;

and monitor the effects of ballast water management in waters under their jurisdiction.

Survey, certification and inspection

Ships are required to be surveyed and certified (Article 7 Survey and certification) and may be inspected by port State control officers (Article 9 Inspection of Ships) who can verify that

the ship has a valid certificate; inspect the Ballast Water Record Book; and/or sample the ballast water. If there are concerns, then a detailed inspection may be carried out and "the Party

carrying out the inspection shall take such steps as will ensure that the ship shall not discharge Ballast Water until it can do so without presenting a threat of harm to the environment,

human health, property or resources."

All possible efforts shall be made to avoid a ship being unduly detained or delayed (Article 12 Undue Delay to Ships).

Technical assistance

Under Article 13 Technical Assistance, Co-operation and Regional Co-operation, Parties undertake, directly or through the Organization and other international bodies, as appropriate, in
respect of the control and management of ships' ballast water and sediments, to provide support for those Parties which request technical assistance to train personnel; to ensure the

availability of relevant technology, equipment and facilities; to initiate joint research and development programmes; and to undertake other action aimed at the effective implementation of

this Convention and of guidance developed by the Organization related thereto.

Annex - Section A General Provisions

This includes definitions, application and exemptions. Under Regulation A-2 General Applicability: "Except where expressly provided otherwise, the discharge of Ballast Water shall only

be conducted through Ballast Water Management, in accordance with the provisions of this Annex."

Annex - Section B Management and Control Requirements for Ships

Ships are required to have on board and implement a Ballast Water Management Plan approved by the Administration (Regulation B-1). The Ballast Water Management Plan is specific

to each ship and includes a detailed description of the actions to be taken to implement the Ballast Water Management requirements and supplemental Ballast Water Management

practices.

Ships must have a Ballast Water Record Book (Regulation B-2) to record when ballast water is taken on board; circulated or treated for Ballast Water Management purposes; and

discharged into the sea. It should also record when Ballast Water is discharged to a reception facility and accidental or other exceptional discharges of Ballast Water

The specific requirements for ballast water management are contained in regulation B-3 Ballast Water Management for Ships:

Ships constructed before 2009 with a ballast water capacity of between 1500 and 5000 cubic metres must conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast water

exchange standards or the ballast water performance standards until 2014, after which time it shall at least meet the ballast water performance standard.

Ships constructed before 2009 with a ballast water capacity of less than 1500 or greater than 5000 cubic metres must conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast

water exchange standards or the ballast water performance standards until 2016, after which time it shall at least meet the ballast water performance standard.

Ships constructed in or after 2009 with a ballast water capacity of less than 5000 cubic metres must conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast water performance

standard.

Ships constructed in or after 2009 but before 2012, with a ballast water capacity of 5000 cubic metres or more shall conduct ballast water management that at least meets the standard

described in regulation D-1 or D-2 until 2016 and at least the ballast water performance standard after 2016.

Ships constructed in or after 2012, with a ballast water capacity of 5000 cubic metres or more shall conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast water performance

standard.

Other methods of ballast water management may also be accepted as alternatives to the ballast water exchange standard and ballast water performance standard, provided that such

methods ensure at least the same level of protection to the environment, human health, property or resources, and are approved in principle by IMO's Marine Environment Protection

Committee (MEPC).

Under Regulation B-4 Ballast Water Exchange, all ships using ballast water exchange should:
whenever possible, conduct ballast water exchange at least 200 nautical miles from the nearest land and in water at least 200 metres in depth, taking into account Guidelines developed

by IMO;

in cases where the ship is unable to conduct ballast water exchange as above, this should be as far from the nearest land as possible, and in all cases at least 50 nautical miles from the

nearest land and in water at least 200 metres in depth.

When these requirements cannot be met areas may be designated where ships can conduct ballast water exchange. All ships shall remove and dispose of sediments from spaces

designated to carry ballast water in accordance with the provisions of the ships' ballast water management plan (Regulation B-4).

Annex - Section C Additional measures

A Party, individually or jointly with other Parties, may impose on ships additional measures to prevent, reduce, or eliminate the transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens

through ships' Ballast Water and Sediments.

In these cases, the Party or Parties should consult with adjoining or nearby States that may be affected by such standards or requirements and should communicate their intention to

establish additional measure(s) to the Organization at least 6 months, except in emergency or epidemic situations, prior to the projected date of implementation of the measure(s). When

appropriate, Parties will have to obtain the approval of IMO.

Annex - Section D Standards for Ballast Water Management

There is a ballast water exchange standard and a ballast water performance standard. Ballast water exchange could be used to meet the performance standard:

Regulation D-1 Ballast Water Exchange Standard - Ships performing Ballast Water exchange shall do so with an efficiency of 95 per cent volumetric exchange of Ballast Water. For ships

exchanging ballast water by the pumping-through method, pumping through three times the volume of each ballast water tank shall be considered to meet the standard described.

Pumping through less than three times the volume may be accepted provided the ship can demonstrate that at least 95 percent volumetric exchange is met.

Regulation D-2 Ballast Water Performance Standard - Ships conducting ballast water management shall discharge less than 10 viable organisms per cubic metre greater than or equal to

50 micrometres in minimum dimension and less than 10 viable organisms per milliliter less than 50 micrometres in minimum dimension and greater than or equal to 10 micrometres in

minimum dimension; and discharge of the indicator microbes shall not exceed the specified concentrations.

The indicator microbes, as a human health standard, include, but are not be limited to:

a. Toxicogenic Vibrio cholerae (O1 and O139) with less than 1 colony forming unit (cfu) per 100 milliliters or less than 1 cfu per 1 gram (wet weight) zooplankton samples ;

b. Escherichia coli less than 250 cfu per 100 milliliters;

c. Intestinal Enterococci less than 100 cfu per 100 milliliters.

Ballast Water Management systems must be approved by the Administration in accordance with IMO Guidelines (Regulation D-3 Approval requirements for Ballast Water Management

systems). These include systems which make use of chemicals or biocides; make use of organisms or biological mechanisms; or which alter the chemical or physical characteristics of

the Ballast Water.

 
Prototype technologies

Regulation D-4 covers Prototype Ballast Water Treatment Technologies. It allows for ships participating in a programme approved by the Administration to test and evaluate promising

Ballast Water treatment technologies to have a leeway of five years before having to comply with the requirements.

Review of standards

Under regulation D-5 Review of Standards by the Organization, IMO is required to review the Ballast Water Performance Standard, taking into account a number of criteria including

safety considerations; environmental acceptability, i.e., not causing more or greater environmental impacts than it solves; practicability, i.e., compatibility with ship design and operations;

cost effectiveness; and biological effectiveness in terms of removing, or otherwise rendering inactive harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in ballast water. The review should

include a determination of whether appropriate technologies are available to achieve the standard, an assessment of the above mentioned criteria, and an assessment of the socio-

economic effect(s) specifically in relation to the developmental needs of developing countries, particularly small island developing States.

Annex- Section E Survey and Certification Requirements for Ballast Water Management

Gives requirements for initial renewal, annual, intermediate and renewal surveys and certification requirements. Appendices give form of Ballast Water Management Certificate and Form

of Ballast Water Record Book.

Background

The problem of invasive species is largely due to the expanded trade and traffic volume over the last few decades. The effects in many areas of the world have been devastating.

Quantitative data show the rate of bio-invasions is continuing to increase at an alarming rate, in many cases exponentially, and new areas are being invaded all the time. Volumes of

seaborne trade continue overall to increase and the problem may not yet have reached its peak.

Specific examples include the introduction of the European zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in the Great Lakes between Canada and the United States, resulting in expenses of

billions of dollars for pollution control and cleaning of fouled underwater structures and waterpipes; and the introduction of the American comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi) to the Black and

Azov Seas, causing the near extinction of anchovy and sprat fisheries.

The problem of harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water was first raised at IMO in 1988 and since then IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), together with the

Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and technical sub-committees, have been dealing with the issue, focusing in the past decade first on guidelines and then on developing the new

convention.

Going further into history, scientists first recognized the signs of an alien species introduction after a mass occurrence of the Asian phytoplankton algae Odontella (Biddulphia sinensis) in

the North Sea in 1903.

But it was not until the 1970s that the scientific community began reviewing the problem in detail. In the late 1980s, Canada and Australia were among countries experiencing particular

problems with unwanted species, and they brought their concerns to the attention of IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).

In 1991 the MEPC adopted MEPC resolution 50(31) - Guidelines for Preventing the Introduction of Unwanted Organisms and Pathogens from Ships' Ballast Water and Sediment

Discharges; while the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, recognized the issue as a major international concern.

In November 1993, the IMO Assembly adopted resolution A.774(18) - Guidelines for Preventing the Introduction of Unwanted Organisms and Pathogens from Ships' Ballast Water and

Sediment Discharges, based on the Guidelines adopted in 1991. The resolution requested the MEPC and the MSC to keep the Guidelines under review with a view to developing

internationally applicable, legally-binding provisions.

 
The 20th Assembly of IMO in November 1997 adopted resolution A.868(20) - Guidelines for the control and management of ships' ballast water to minimize the transfer of harmful

aquatic organisms and pathogens.

The Convention  was then developed -  and adopted in 2004.

Ballast Water Convention Adopted

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water & Sediments was adopted by consensus at a Diplomatic Conference at IMO in London on Friday 13 February 2004.

The Conference was attended by representatives of 74 States, one Associate Member of IMO; and observers from two intergovernmental organizations and 18 non-governmental international organizations.

Summary of Convention requirements

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments is divided into Articles; and an Annex which includes technical standards and requirements in the Regulations for the
control and management of ships' ballast water and sediments. 

The main features of the Convention are outlined below.

Entry into force

The Convention will enter into force 12 months after ratification by 30 States, representing 35 per cent of world merchant shipping tonnage (Article 18 Entry into force).

General Obligations

Under Article 2 General Obligations Parties undertake to give full and complete effect to the provisions of the Convention and the Annex in order to prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the transfer of harmful aquatic
organisms and pathogens through the control and management of ships’ ballast water and sediments.

Parties are given the right to take, individually or jointly with other Parties, more stringent measures with respect to the prevention, reduction or elimination of the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens
through the control and management of ships’ ballast water and sediments, consistent with international law. Parties should ensure that ballast water management practices do not cause greater harm than they prevent to
their environment, human health, property or resources, or those of other States.

Reception facilities

Under Article 5 Sediment Reception FacilitiesParties undertake to ensure that ports and terminals where cleaning or repair of ballast tanks occurs, have adequate reception facilities for the reception of sediments.

Research and monitoring

Article 6 Scientific and Technical Research and Monitoring calls for Parties individually or jointly to promote and facilitate scientific and technical research on ballast water management; and monitor the effects of ballast
water management in waters under their jurisdiction.

Survey, certification and inspection

Ships are required to be surveyed and certified (Article 7 Survey and certification)and may be inspected by port State control officers (Article 9 Inspection of Ships)  who can verify that the ship has a valid certificate;
inspect the Ballast Water Record Book; and/or sample the ballast water. If there are concerns, then a detailed inspection may be carried out and “the Party carrying out the inspection shall take such steps as will ensure
that the ship shall not discharge Ballast Water until it can do so without presenting a threat of harm to the environment, human health, property or resources.”

All possible efforts shall be made to avoid a ship being unduly detained or delayed (Article 12 Undue Delay to Ships).

Technical assistance

Under Article 13 Technical Assistance, Co-operation and Regional Co-operation, Parties undertake, directly or through the Organization and other international bodies, as appropriate, in respect of the control and
management of ships' ballast water and sediments, to provide support for those Parties which request technical assistance to train personnel; to ensure the availability of relevant technology, equipment and facilities; to
initiate joint research and development programmes; and to undertake other action aimed at the effective implementation of this Convention and of guidance developed by the Organization related thereto.

Annex – Section A General Provisions

This includes definitions, application and exemptions. Under Regulation A-2 General Applicability: “Except where expressly provided otherwise, the discharge of Ballast Water shall only be conducted through Ballast Water
Management, in accordance with the provisions of this Annex.”

Annex – Section B Management and Control Requirements for Ships

Ships are required to have on board and implement a Ballast Water Management Plan approved by the Administration (Regulation B-1). The Ballast Water Management Plan is specific to each ship and includes a detailed
description of the actions to be taken to implement the Ballast Water Management requirements and supplemental Ballast Water Management practices.

Ships must have a Ballast Water Record Book (Regulation B-2) to record when ballast water is taken on board; circulated or treated for Ballast Water Management purposes; and discharged into the sea. It should also
record when Ballast Water is discharged to a reception facility and accidental or other exceptional discharges of Ballast Water
The specific requirements for ballast water management are contained in regulation B-3 Ballast Water Management for Ships:

 Ships constructed before 2009 with a ballast water capacity of between 1500 and 5000 cubic metres must conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast water exchange standards or
the ballast water performance standards until 2014, after which time it shall at least meet the ballast water performance standard.
 Ships constructed before 2009 with a ballast water capacity of less than 1500 or greater than 5000 cubic metres must conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast water exchange
standards or the ballast water performance standards until 2016, after which time it shall at least meet the ballast water performance standard.
 Ships constructed in or after 2009 with a ballast water capacity of less than 5000 cubic metres must conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast water performance standard.
 Ships constructed in or after 2009 but before 2012, with a ballast water capacity of 5000 cubic metres or more shall conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast water performance
standard.
 Ships constructed in or after 2012, with a ballast water capacity of 5000 cubic metres or more shall conduct ballast water management that at least meets the ballast water performance standard.

Other methods of ballast water management may also be accepted as alternatives to the ballast water exchange standard and ballast water performance standard, provided that such methods ensure at least the same level
of protection to the environment, human health, property or resources, and are approved in principle by IMO’s  Marine Environment Protection  Committee (MEPC).

Under Regulation B-4 Ballast Water Exchange, all ships using ballast water exchange should:

 Whenever possible, conduct ballast water exchange at least 200 nautical miles from the nearest land and in water at least 200 metres in depth, taking into account Guidelines developed by IMO;
 In cases where the ship is unable to conduct ballast water exchange as above, this should be as far from the nearest land as possible, and in all cases at least 50 nautical miles from the nearest land and in
water at least 200 metres in depth.

When these requirements cannot be met areas may be designated where ships can conduct ballast water exchange.  All ships shall remove and dispose of sediments from spaces designated to carry ballast water in
accordance with the provisions of the ships’ ballast water management plan (Regulation B-4).

Annex - Section C Additional measures

A Party, individually or jointly with other Parties, may impose on ships additional measures to prevent, reduce, or eliminate the transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens through ships’ Ballast Water and
Sediments.

In these cases, the Party or Parties should consult with adjoining or nearby States that may be affected by such standards or requirements and should communicate their intention to establish additional measure(s) to the
Organization at least 6 months, except in emergency or epidemic situations, prior to the projected date of implementation of the measure(s).  When appropriate, Parties will have to obtain the approval of IMO.

Annex – Section D Standards for Ballast Water Management

There is a ballast water exchange standard and a ballast water performance standard. Ballast water exchange could be used to meet the performance standard:

Regulation D-1 Ballast Water Exchange Standard - Ships performing Ballast Water exchange shall do so with an efficiency of 95 per cent volumetric exchange of Ballast Water. For ships exchanging ballast water by the
pumping-through method, pumping through three times the volume of each ballast water tank shall be considered to meet the standard described.  Pumping through less than three times the volume may be accepted
provided the ship can demonstrate that at least 95 percent volumetric exchange is met.

Regulation D-2 Ballast Water Performance Standard - Ships conducting ballast water management shall discharge less than 10 viable organisms per cubic metre greater than or equal to 50 micrometers in minimum
dimension and less than 10 viable organisms per milliliter less than 50 micrometres in minimum dimension and greater than or equal to 10 micrometers in minimum dimension; and discharge of the indicator microbes shall
not exceed the specified concentrations.

The indicator microbes, as a human health standard, include, but are not be limited to:

a. Toxicogenic Vibrio cholerae (O1 and O139) with less than 1 colony forming unit (cfu) per 100 milliliters or less than 1 cfu per 1 gram (wet weight) zooplankton samples;
b. Escherichia coliless than 250 cfu per 100 milliliters;
c. Intestinal Enterococci less than 100 cfu per 100 milliliters.

Ballast Water Management systems must be approved by the Administration in accordance with IMO Guidelines (Regulation D-3 Approval requirements for Ballast Water Management systems). These include systems which
make use of chemicals or biocides; make use of organisms or biological mechanisms; or which alter the chemical or physical characteristics of the Ballast Water.

Prototype technologies

Regulation D-4 covers Prototype Ballast Water Treatment Technologies. It allows for ships participating in a programme approved by the Administration to test and evaluate promising Ballast Water treatment technologies
to have a leeway of five years before having to comply with the requirements.

Review of standards

Under Regulation D-5 Review of Standards by the Organization, IMO is required to review the Ballast Water Performance Standard, taking into account a number of criteria including safety considerations;environmental
acceptability, i.e., not causing more or greater environmental impacts than it solves; practicability, i.e., compatibility with ship design and operations; cost effectiveness; and biological effectiveness in terms of removing, or
otherwise rendering inactive harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in ballast water.  The review should include a determination of whether appropriate technologies are available to achieve the standard, an assessment
of the above mentioned criteria, and an assessment of the socio-economic effect(s) specifically in relation to the developmental needs of developing countries, particularly small island developing States.

Annex - Section E Survey and Certification Requirements for Ballast Water Management

Gives requirements for initial renewal, annual, intermediate and renewal surveys and certification requirements.  Appendices give form of Ballast Water Management Certificate and Form of Ballast Water Record Book.

Resolutions adopted by the Conference

The Conference also adopted four resolutions:

 Conference resolution 1: Future work by the Organization pertaining to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments
 Conference resolution 2: The use of decision-making tools when reviewing the standards pursuant to Regulation D-5
 Conference resolution 3: Promotion of technical co-operation and assistance
  Conference resolution 4: Review of the Annex to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments

Treatment Technology

Reballasting at sea, as recommended by the IMO guidelines, currently provides the best-available measure to reduce the risk of transfer of harmful aquatic organisms, but is subject to serious ship-safety limits. Even when
it can be fully implemented, this technique is less than 100% effective in removing organisms from ballast water. Some parties even suggest that reballasting at sea may itself contribute to the wider dispersal of harmful
species, and that island states located ‘down-stream’ of mid-ocean reballastring areas may be at particular risk from this practice.

It is therefore extremely important that alternative, effective ballast water management and/or treatment methods are developed as soon as possible, to replace reballasting at sea. Significant research and development
(R&D) efforts are underway by a number of scientific and engineering research establishments around the world, aimed at developing a more complete solution to this problem.

Options being considered include:

 Mechanical treatment methods such as filtration and separation.

All of these possibilities currently require significant further research effort. Major barriers still exist in scaling these various technologies up to deal effectively with the huge quantities of ballast water carried by large ships
(e.g. about 60,000 tonnes of ballast water on a 200,000 DWT bulk carrier). Treatment options must not interfere unduly with the safe and economical operation of the ship and must consider ship design limitations. Any
control measure that is developed must meet a number of criteria, including:

 It must be safe.
 It must be environmentally acceptable.
 It must be cost-effective.
 It must work.

One of the problems currently faced by the global R&D community is that apart from the general criteria above, there are currently no internationally agreed and approved performance standards or evaluation system for
the formal acceptance of any new techniques that are developed. In addition, many groups are working in isolation from each other, and there are no formal mechanisms in place to ensure effective lines of communication
between the R&D community, governments and ship designers, builders and owners. These are vital if the R&D effort is to succeed.

The GloBallast Programme hopes to reduce these barriers through two initiatives, the Ballast Water Treatment R&D Directory (see below), and convening bi-annual Ballast Water Treatment R&D Symposium. The 1st
Symposium was held in March 2001 (see below). The PCU also convened a Ballast Water Treatment Standards Workshop in March 2001, in an effort to assist the MEPC to finalize the newly adopted Ballast Water Convention
(see below).

Search the Ballast Water Treatment R&D Directory (Database)

Click here for the Ballast Water Treatment R&D Directory (Adobe PDF)

Click here for the Abstracts from the 1st International Ballast Water Treatment R&D Symposium

Click here for the Abstracts from the 2nd International Ballast Water Treatment R&D Symposium (Adobe PDF)

Click here for the Proceedings from the 1st International Ballast Water Treatment R&D Symposium

Click here for the Report of the 1st International Ballast Water Treatment Standards Workshop

Click here for the Summary of the Convention Requirements

New for 2010:

The Global R&D Forum on Emerging BWM Systems was held from 27 to 29 January 2010, and was intended to provide a possibility to showcase the new and emerging systems, which could complement the systems
reviewed, tested and approved under the G8/G9 Guidelines of the BWM Convention. The Forum brought together the international community engaged in developing innovative ballast water management systems, including
alternative management systems, providing an open debate and review of the existing and emerging systems and the way forward to push the technology envelope to meet the challenges of ballast water management. In
addition, it allowed for a stock-taking on what we have learned so far, and a discussion on the possibilities and challenges ahead.

Approximately 240 participants attended the Forum. GloBallast PCU would like to thank the co-organizers and sponsors, namely the World Maritime University (WMU) the Global Industry Alliance (GIA), APL, BP Shipping,
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Vela Marine International, Malmaty, the Interreg Ballast Water Opportunity project, Wilhelmsen Ships Equipment AS and Respartner AB.