PANAMA MARITIME AUTHORITY F-265

(AUTORIDAD MARÍTIMA DE PANAMÁ) (DCCM)

GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF MERCHANT MARINE V.00

(DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE MARINA MERCANTE)

DEPARTMENT OF CONTROL AND COMPLIANCE
(DEPARTAMENTO DE CONTROL Y CUMPLIMIENTO)

MERCHANT MARINE CIRCULAR MMC-345

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
To: Ship-owners/operators, Legal Representatives of Panamanian Flagged Vessels, Panamanian Merchant
Marine Consulates and Recognized Organizations (ROs).

Subject: Ballast Water Management Convention 2004, Panama Policy.

Reference: a) Law No.41 of 12 September 2016 adopting International Convention for the Control and
Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004;
b) BWM.2/Circ.46 - Application of the BWM Convention to Mobile Offshore Units;
c) BWM.2/Circ.52 - Guidance on entry or re-entry of ships into exclusive operation within waters under
the jurisdiction of a single Party;
d) BWM.2/Circ.40 - Issuance of Ballast Water Management Certificates prior to entry into force of the
BWM Convention and Ballast Water Management Plans approved according to resolution A.868(20).
e) Resolution JD No.002-2017 of 26 January, 2017
f) Resolution MEPC.287(71) 7 July, 2017.
g) Resolution MEPC.297(72) of 13 April 2018.
h) BWM.2/Circ.70, 1 November 2018.
i) Resolution MEPC.300(72).

1. PURPOSE

1.1 The purpose of this Merchant Marine Circular is to inform that the Republic of Panama submitted to the Secretary
General of the International Maritime Organization, the accession of the Ballast Water Management Convention
2004, including a declaration in accordance with the recommendation contained in Resolution A.1088(28) on 19
October 2016, now superseded by the Resolution MEPC.287(71) of 7 July 2017 ; and that the Convention entered into
force on 8 September 2017.

1.2 Furthermore, it provides guidance and instructions to ensure compliance with the Ballast Water Management
Convention 2004 adopted by the Republic of Panama by Law No. 41 of 12 September 2016, and the complementary
IMO Resolutions and Circulars.
1.3 As well as give additional guidance and instructions in line with the amendment to regulation B-3 of the BWM
Convention decision of the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC session 71) on the approval of the
draft amended regulation B-3 of the BWM Convention, which will be circulated to Member States for adoption during
MEPC 72 scheduled to be held from April 9 -13, 2018; and the draft MEPC resolution on Determination of the date
referred to in regulation B-3, as amended, of the BWM Convention, which the Secretary-General will circulate
immediately upon entry into force of the Convention. As per the draft documents the MEPC has resolved that, in lieu
of the implementation schedule recommended in resolution A.1088(28) and notwithstanding the schedule set forth in
regulation B-3 of the Convention, the Parties to the Ballast Water Management Convention should implement the
draft amended regulation B-3 contained therein, immediately after entry into force of the Convention, with a view to
avoiding the creation of a dual treaty regime during the time period between the entry into force of the Convention
and the entry into force of the amended regulation B-3.

2. APPLICABILITY

2.1 In accordance with definition of a ship in Article 1.12, the Ballast Water Management Convention will apply to vessels
of any type including submersibles, floating craft, floating platforms, FSUs and FPSOs.

2.2 All Panamanian flagged ships with dedicated ballast water tanks or spaces, shall comply with the following
requirements:

a) Ballast Water Management Plan developed as it is indicated in IMO Resolution MEPC 127(53) approved by
this Administration.
b) Ballast Water Record Book

2.3 Panamanian flagged ships of 400 gross tonnage (GT) and above, shall carry on board:

a) International Ballast Water Management Certificate (IBWM Certificate), (excluding floating platforms,
FSUs and FPSOs at the location of operation)
b) Ballast Water Management Plan (BWMP) approved by this Administration under IMO Resolution
MEPC.127 (53), and
c) Ballast Water Record Book

2.4 As it is indicated in regulation A-3.5, the requirements of regulation B-3 “Ballast Water Management for Ships”
(including D-2 standard), shall not apply to the discharge of Ballast Water and Sediments from a ship at the same
location where the whole of that Ballast Water and those Sediments originated and provided that no mixing with
unmanaged Ballast Water and Sediments from other areas has occurred. If mixing has occurred, the Ballast Water
taken from other areas is subject to Ballast Water Management (regulation B-3); therefore, Mobile offshore units
including Mobile Offshore Drilling Units should be surveyed and issued with an International Ballast Water
Management Certificate, according to regulations E-1 and E-2 of the Convention, as applicable, this is in line to the
IMO guideline BWM.2/Circ.46 - Application of the BWM Convention to Mobile Offshore Units. As well as it is
indicated SEUs and CSUs take on board ballast water and discharge it for transit to other areas. The transit ballast
water and sediments remaining in the preload and operational ballast tanks of the mobile offshore units may be
treated by an appropriately approved internal circulation method. Other methods of ballast water management,
capable of providing the same level of protection to the environment, human health, property or resources as
described in regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5 of the Convention, may also be acceptable and should be included into the Ship
Ballast Water Management Plan.
2.5 For entry or re-entry into exclusive operation pursuant to articles 3.2(b) to 3.2(d), the guidelines contained in
BWM.2/Circ.52/Rev.1 - Guidance on entry or re-entry of ships into exclusive operation within waters under the
jurisdiction of a single Party, should be observed with respect to a number of situations (e.g mobile offshore units, to
visit a dry-dock among others).

3. BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (BWMS)

3.1 The Ballast Water Management Systems Type approved by other Administrations will be accepted on ships under
Panama flag, provided it’s been approved in accordance with the Guidelines on the Type Approval process for BWMS
(Resolution MEPC.174 (58) or Resolution MEPC.279 (70) as applicable). Manufacturers interested to obtain approval
for their Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) by the Panama Maritime Authority may request a Recognition
Certificate for the Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) through a legal representative located in Panama. This
request is voluntary, and should be submitted to General Directorate of Merchant Marine with the following
documents:

• The list of system equipment limitations, if applicable;

• Certificate of type approval from other Administration;
• Additional supporting document, such as type approvals issued by Classification Societies;
• Test results carried out by the other Administration and/or Classification Society, and
• Official Payment Receipt for USD $2,000.00

3.2 Recognized Organizations (R.O.) should conduct an additional survey during sea trials of a Ballast Water Management
System (BWMS) to confirm the operation and efficacy of the system.

3.3 Ships involved in voyages that include ports in the United Stated or its jurisdictional waters, shall be fitted with Ballast
Water Management Systems accepted by the United State Coast Guard (USCG) according to the timeline set by that
Administration.

3.4 Noting that Parties to the Ballast Water Management Convention are called to implement the draft amended
regulation B-3, that has been approved by the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) during its 71
session, through the Resolution MEPC.287(71) of 7 July 2017 – Implementation of the BWM Convention which
superseded the resolution A.1088(28) of 4 December 2013, immediately after entry into force of the Convention, and
as per Resolution MEPC.297(72), of 13 April 2018, stakeholders are informed that compliance with regulation D-2 is as
follows for ships constructed:

3.4.1 before 2009 with any ballast water capacity from the applicable renewal survey as described in paragraph
3.7,

3.4.2 in or after 2009 and before 8 September 2017 with a ballast water capacity of less than 5000 m3 from the
date of the applicable renewal survey described in paragraph 3.7,

3.4.3 in or after 2009 and before 2012 with a ballast water capacity of 5000 m3 or more from the date of the
applicable renewal survey described in paragraph 3.7,

3.4.4 in or after 2012 and before 2017 with a ballast water capacity of 5000 m3 or more from the date of the
 applicable renewal survey described in paragraph 3.7,

3.5 Ship constructed on or after 8 September 2017 shall conduct Ballast Water Management that at least meets the
standard described in regulation D-2.

3.6 In case of oil tankers of less than 150 gross tonnage, and every other ship less than of 400 gross tonnage constructed
before 8 September 2017 with any ballast water ballast capacity, shall conduct Ballast Water Management that at
least meets the standard described in regulation D-2 not later than 8 September 2024.

3.7 Installation of BWMS to comply with regulation D-2, shall be carried out after the entry into force of the Convention
(8 September 2017), in case of ships constructed prior 8 September 2017, as follows:

3.7.1 On the first renewal survey - 1st IOPP (R) following the date of entry into force of the Convention (8
September 2017), provided this renewal survey is completed on or after 8 September 2019, or

3.7.2 On the first renewal survey - 1st IOPP (RS) following the date of entry into force of the Convention (8
September 2017), provided that this renewal survey is completed on or after 8 September 2014 but
prior to 8 September 2017.

3.7.3 On the second renewal survey - 2nd IOPP (RS) following the date of entry into force of the Convention (8
September 2017) if the first renewal survey - 1st IOPP (RS) following the date of entry into force of
the Convention is completed prior to 8 September 2019, provided that the conditions of paragraph
3.7.2 are not met.

3.7.4 The following diagram has been prepared with the purpose to assist on the understanding of the
paragraphs 3.7.1 to 3.7.3 above, on the implementation of D-2 standard on board ships constructed
prior 8 September 2017:

Entry into force

of BWMC
Last IOPP
RS
à [8/sept/2014 – 7/sept/2017] [8/sept/2017 – 7/sept/2019] 8/sept/2019 à

1st IOPP renewal survey after EIF 2nd IOPP renewal survey after 1st IOPP renewal survey
of the Convention EIF of the Convention after EIF of the Convention
D2
compliance
à 2019 - 2022 2022 - 2024 2019 à

Note: 1st and 2nd IOPP renewal surveys referred above are those surveys carried out after the entry into force of
the Convention.

3.8 Following the outcome from the MEPC 74 where Administrations were strongly recommended to provide instruction
to its Recognized Organizations to verify that the indicative analysis testing is conducted at the time of the
Commissioning Test (operational test carried out based on the installation commissioning procedures) to the Ballast
 Water Management System, and considering the delays and inconveniences reported to this Administration due to
the lack of clarity with regard to the indicative analysis testing, the following points should be observed:

3.8.1 The indicative analysis test it is recommended with the intention to demonstrate compliance of the
treated discharge ballast water during the above mentioned test with regulation D-2 through a sampling
analysis using as reference the guidance for commissioning testing ‘BWM.2/Circ.70’ (as the recommended
guideline)

3.8.2 In case that the indicative analysis testing will result as non-complying, then a detailed analysis should be
conducted, using as reference the Guideline content in BWM.2-Circ.42-Rev.1).

3.8.3 Laboratories used for detailed analysis (if required) should be accepted or approved by the ROs
considering the requirements in the Code for the Recognized Organizations with regards to
subcontracting and service suppliers.

3.8.4 Commissioning test should not apply to ships that had already a BWMS installed and certified for D-2
standard.

3.8.5 In cases were the voluntary sampling analysis for indicative analysis test is not possible to conduct during
the ship’s commissioning test (e.g. salinity of ambient water is outside the System Design Limitations of
the BWMS, lack of equipment for indicative analysis required), please inform to this Administration for
registry purpose.

3.8.6 The indicative analysis test is not mandatory (voluntary) until the entry into force of amendments to
Regulation E-1 will take place.

4. BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN (BWMP)

4.1 BWMP will be evaluated, revised and approved by Segumar Panama, in accordance with the requirement of
Regulation B-1 of the Ballast Water Management Convention; the BWMP should take into account IMO Resolution
MEPC.127 (53) - Guidelines for ballast water management and development of ballast water management plans (G4)
adopted by the IMO on 22 July 2005.

4.2 To apply for the approval, ship-owners and ship-operators as well as ship-yards are invited to access the following
link: E-Segumar, from 15 March, 2017. The link will allow users to upload the Ship’s BWMP.

4.3 The BWMP will be approved electronically (according MMC 355 – Use of Electronic Certificates Onboard paragraph
3.1.a) and electronic copy should be placed on board, and available for inspection at all times.

4.4 From 15 March, 2017, this Administration will issue an electronic Statement for Ballast Water Management Plan to
the Company, valid for one (1) month, upon receipt of the BWMP for review and approval.

4.5 Ships not fitted with a BWMS or ships fitted with a BWMS which has been subject to modification should review and
update their BWMP upon installation or modification, as per the requirements of Resolution MEPC.127 (53) of 22 July
2005. In these cases BWMP should be submitted to the Administration for re-approval in accordance with paragraph
4.2 of this circular.
4.6 Ballast Water Management Plans, previously approved by Recognized Organizations at their own behalf in
accordance with Resolution A.868(20) adopted by the IMO on 27 November 1997, will remain valid and will be
accepted by this Administration for the issuance of the IBWMC, until the plan requires revision due to the installation
of a BWMS and the BWMP requires to be updated under IMO Resolution MEPC 127 (53).

4.7 Payments for BWMP approval can be made through wire transfer, bank details can be requested to the following
email addresses [email protected]; [email protected]; or full payment can be made to the Merchant
Marine Qualified Consulates (no handling fees should apply, as per Resolution JD No.002-2017 of 26 January 26,
2017).

4.8 The fees set for the approval of a BWMP is as follows:

4.8.1 First time Evaluation or significant amendments (e.g.. Procedures, Calculations, Equipment
change’s or replacement, Structural modifications.) USD 1,500.00 for each ship.

4.8.2 Amendments due to Ship’s Name Change, Call Sign, Gross Tonnage, Change of Flag, etc.,
USD 500.00 for each ship.

4.8.3 New application should be placed through following link: E-Segumar, in order to apply for
any cases of the above paragraphs (4.8.1, 4.8.2).

4.9 BWMP developed as per the guideline on Resolution MEPC.127(53) adopted by the IMO on 22 July 2005, must be
evaluated and approved by this Administration, considering that this Guideline is applicable from the date of entry
into force of the Convention, plans shall include contingency measures developed taking into account guidelines
developed by the Organization, (Refer to the Guidance on contingency measures under the BWM Convention -
BWM.2/Circ.62).

5. INTERNATIONAL BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE (IBWMC)

5.1 Ships of 400 gross tonnage subject to the surveys required by the Convention (Regulation E-1) shall be issued after
satisfactory completion, with the corresponding IBWMC (Regulation E-2).

5.2 Recognized Organizations authorized to perform such surveys shall issue a Short term or Provisional International
Ballast Water Management Certificate valid for a period of maximum five (5) months, after satisfactory completion of
the correspondent initial or renewal survey.

5.3 Initial Survey (in connection with Certificates issued for the first time), may be performed prior the entry into force of
the Convention, and Provisional Certificates can be issued by the approved Recognized Organizations, to be valid from
the date of entry into force of the Convention and valid for a period of maximum five (5) months.

5.4 The ship’s survey to issue the IBWMC for the first time is allowed to be carried out in conjunction with the annual
survey of the statutory certificates.

5.5 Application for full term Certificate IBWMC should be made through the following link: E-Segumar, from 15 March
2017.

5.6 The IBWMC will be issued as an electronic certificate that can be printed by the user when needed. Refer to (MMC
 355 – Use of Electronic Certificates Onboard paragraph 3.1.a)

5.7 The Full term International Ballast Water Management Certificate (IBWMC) will be issued by Segumar Offices
(including branch offices) after receiving through the electronic system, copy of the following documents:

5.7.1 Short term or Provisional Certificate issued by the Recognized Organization;

5.7.2 Survey Report; and
5.7.3 BWMP approval*

*At this stage, plan should be approved by Segumar Panama Office as per Resolution MEPC.127(53), therefore approval
copy or the correspondent Statement of Ballast Water Management Plan issued by this Administration, should be
available in our records. In case of those ships with an approved BWMP as per the guidelines of Resolution A.868(20) of
1997, by a duly approved Recognized Organization, evidence of such approval and the BWMP Complete shall be uploaded
on Segumar E-app (ej. BWMP should have Complete reflecting approval as per Resolution A.868(20). In these cases
where RO’s stamped seal do not reflect approval as per Resolution A.868(20), the RO should provide an attestation or
statement letter confirming that BWMP has been approved under the aforementioned Resolution; copy of that letter
shall be attached to the BWMP. The above will be verify by this administration, with the evaluation of the BWMP
developed under Resolution IMO A.868 (20).

5.8 The fee for the issuance of the IBWMC is USD 300.00. (No handling fees should apply in case of payments made
through the Merchant Marine Qualified Consulates, as per Resolution JD No.002-2017 of 26 January, 2017).

5.8.1. The fee for Modifications or Reissuance of the IBWMC is USD 300.00. (This will apply in the following cases: (Ej.
Ship’s Name Change, Call Sign, Gross Tonnage, Method of Ballast, Ballast Water Capacity etc.).

5.8.2. New application should be placed through the following link: E-Segumar, in order to apply for any cases of the
above paragraphs (5.8, 5.8.1).

5.9 International Ballast Water Management Certificates (IBWMC), issued from 8 September 2017, will be valid until the
expiry date of the International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate, in order to facilitate the smooth and uniform
implementation of D-2 standard and the future alignment with the remaining statutory certificates. Therefore,
Recognized Organizations are urged to include within the Survey Report related to the Ballast Water Management
Convention, the date of validity of the International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (IOPP). In each case the
IBWMC shall not exceed the five (5) years period of validity.

5.10 Since the entry into force of the International Ballast Water Convention 2004, de-harmonization of the IOPP
Certificate should not be conducted, in view that installation of the Ballast Water Treatment System is aligned to the
IOPP Certificate Renewal Survey (Refer to Paragraph 3.7.4 above).

6. APPLICATIONS FOR RECOGNITION

6.1 Recognized Organizations interested in conducting surveys and issuing Short term or Provisional certificates in
accordance with the BWM Convention, should apply directly to the Merchant Marine General Directorate.

6.2 The Recognized Organizations interested to obtain authorization from this Administration should apply directly to the
Merchant Marine General Directorate, according to Resolution JD 019-2005 article tenth.
6.3 The issuance of short term or Provisional certificates by the Recognized Organizations does not require the payment
of additional fees.

6.4 Endorsement of corresponding Annual or Intermediate Surveys shall be carried out by the Recognized Organization
duly approved to do so, after satisfactory completion of the same, as it is required by the Convention (Regulation E-1)

6.5 Annual and Intermediate endorsements of the IBWMC by the Recognized Organizations are subject to the fees
indicated in our Resolution J.D. 002-2010 dated 3 February 2010.

7. CERTIFICATE ENDORSEMENT

7.1 Endorsement of the printed version of the electronic IBWMC shall be carried out by the Recognized Organization
surveyors nominated for this purpose at the completion of the correspondent survey on board the ship. Information
of the Responsible surveyor, RO, place, date and other information required to be inserted on the endorsement
spaces shall be communicated by the RO at the earliest opportunity sending an e-mail to [email protected], in
order to update this information on the system and on the electronically issued certificate. Electronic Certificate will
be updated by this Administration at the earliest opportunity, therefore manual endorsement or electronic version of
the endorsement shall be considered as valid.

7.2 It is strongly recommended that the Recognized Organization, that carried out the Initial Survey, and issued the Short
Term or Provisional Certificate, be the same Recognized Organization to endorse the subsequent surveys of the
IBWMC (Full Term issued by the Administration) in order to maintain validity of the Certificate.

7.3 Those operators or ship-owners, who decide to transfer the ship of Recognized Organization, shall have regard to the
procedure for Transfer of Statutory and Class Certification, described in MMC-309. In case that endorsement of the
International Ballast Water Management Certificate is carried out by a different RO at ship-owner or ship-operator
request, this Administration may authorize it on a case by case basis provided that communication between involved
RO’s and all the previous survey reports and records will be presented as evidence of the appropriate maintenance of
validity for the Certificate as it is required by the Convention.

7.4 Overdue Annual/Intermediate Surveys:

7.4.1 A certificate will cease to be valid if the annual/intermediate surveys are not completed within the periods
specified in Section E, Regulation E-1of the Convention. In such cases, authorization may be given to allow
the revalidation of the certificate, as per the RO’s procedures to conduct the appropriate survey.

7.4.2 For revalidation purposes an appropriate survey must be done and should consist of the requirement of
the survey that was not carried out, but its thoroughness and stringency should have regard to the time
this survey was allowed to lapse.

7.4.3 After completion of survey the surveyor on board shall write down “This certificate was revalidated after
completion of the corresponding survey in accordance with (PMA authorization Ref.xxx)’ at the left side
blank space of endorsement and endorsed with Signed, Place and Date on the certificates (refer to
paragraph 7.1 above).

7.4.4 In case that the certificate it’s necessary to be re-issued, an application for a new Certificate must be
 made through our website E-Segumar. The new certificate will be issued with the same validity as the
previous IBWMC.

7.5 The updated status of the International Ballast Water Management Certificate (IBWMC), must be included, in the
“Ship Status Report” prepared by the Recognized Organization.

8. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

8.1 This Administration, taking into account that IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee adopted at its 71
session the Resolution MEPC.287(71) of 7 July 2017, superseding the Assembly Resolution A.1088(28) have posted
the Merchant Marine Circular No.342 amended.

8.2 The Statement of Compliance issued by Recognized Organizations at their own behalf and issued before the entry into
force of the BWM Convention will be accepted by this Administration until the date of entry into force of the
Convention; when it shall be replaced by the corresponding Provisional IBWM Certificate valid for five (5) months and
issued by the Recognized Organization, or by the correspondent International Ballast Water Management Certificate
(IBWMC) issued by the Administration.

8.3 Provisional Certificates are allowed to be issued by the Recognized Organization based on the inspection carried out
previously for the issuance of the Statement of Compliance, provided that the inspection has been carried out in
accordance with the requirements of the Convention (Regulation E-1.1.1).

8.4 As per results discussion of proposal made to the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) during its
session 71, regulation B-3 is applicable to top side tanks of bulk carrier ships.

8.5 In case that conditional certificate it is required please refer to our Merchant Marine Circular No.156.

March, 2020 – paragraphs 1. Minor correction1, 3.8 amended for further clarification and 3.8.1 to 3.8.6 added; 4.7 email
address amended.
December, 2019 – paragraph 3.8 amended for clearer instruction.
October, 2019 – amendment to 2.2, 2.2 a), 2.4, 4.9, 7.1 and text of 2.5, 3.8, 5.10 added,
December, 2018 – 3.4 amended; a), b) and c) of 6.8 deleted; 6.8 amended and renumbered; 6.10 and 6.10.1 deleted and
renumbering; point 7 inserted, paragraphs in this point renumbered and amended, text 7.4.3 inserted, paragraph 8.5
added.
July, 2018 – New paragraphs 6.7, 6.8, 6.9 and 6.10 added.
July, 2018- amendment of the following paragraph: 6.6.1, inclusion of paragraph 6.6.1 a, b, c, inclusion of paragraph 6.2,
paragraph 6.3 and 6.4 change of numeration.
May, 2018 – amendment of the following: paragraph 2.3.b, 4.3, 4.4, 4.6, 4.8.1, 4.8.2, inclusion of paragraph 4.8.3,
amendment of paragraph 5.6, 5.7.3 asterisk note, inclusion of paragraph 5.8.1, 5.8.2, inclusion of paragraphs 6.1.1, 6.1.2,
6.1.3.
September, 2017 - amendment of the following: reference “f”, paragraphs 1.1, 3.4, 4.4, 4.5, 4.9, asterisk note, 5.9 and 7.1.
New paragraph added 6.6.
July, 2017 – reference f), amendment to paragraphs 1.1, 1.2, 2.2 a), 4.2, 4.4, 4.7, 5.8, 7.1; paragraphs 1.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7,
7.4
March, 2017 – 4.1, 4.6, asterisk note, 7.2 amended, and 4.9 added.
February, 2017.
Inquiries concerning the subject of this Circular or any request should be directed to:
SEGUMAR-Panama
Directorate General of Merchant Marine
Panama Maritime Authority

Phone: (507) 501- 5090

E-mail: [email protected] for Certificates, or
[email protected] for Plan Approval.

PanCanal Building
Albrook, Panama City
Republic of Panama
Tel: (507) 501-5355 [email protected]