MY OPINION
BALLAST TRIUMPHS
Barbara Fountoukos confirms that the IMO has yielded to overwhelming demand for an extension to the Ballast Water Management Convention, just two months before the convention’s entry into force
A
total of 61 flag countries, representing 68.46% of world merchant shipping tonnage ships, ratified the convention for the treatment
of ballast water discharge in July. This means all yachts above 24m with a Ballast Water Management system will need to implement a Ballast Water and Sediments Management Plan, prepare their Ballast Water Record Books and adhere to standardised ballast water management procedures.
Whilst newbuilds constructed (keel-laid) on or after 8 September 2017 will need to comply on delivery; existing yachts will now benefit from a two-year delay and can comply after 8 September 2019 – in conjunction with their International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (IOPP) renewal survey. Plus, due to the fact the IOPP survey takes place every five years, some will have up to September 2024 to install Ballast Water Management systems.
Yachts with ballast systems of 8m3 or below and less than 50
metres in length overall (used solely for recreational purposes including vessels available for charter) are unaffected and can comply under Regulation A-5 ‘Equivalent Compliance’ which generally permits ballast water exchange depending on the Flag Administration.
An ongoing area of concern at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the transfer of Aquatic Invasive Species through shipping - which is now recognised as causing serious marine ecological problems within the world’s oceans. This means that ballast water, essential for safe and efficient operations, may pose serious ecological, economic and health issues due to the multitude of marine species carried within it, including bacteria, microbes, small invertebrates, eggs, cysts and larvae of various species etc.
Step in the ‘Ballast Water Management Convention’ (BWM), another IMO brainchild adopted in 2004 after more than 14 years of complex negotiations between IMO Member States. The Convention aims to help limit this negative effect in the future and will
apply to all yachts and ships in scope and with sea water ballast systems.
Due to the operating profiles of yachts, the vast majority do not have typical ship ballast water systems that are used to counter displacement when offloading cargo. However, many large yachts use a ballast water system to maintain suitable heel and trim angles or are ‘explorer’ type vessels converted from carrying cargo. And this is why they have been caught up in a convention designed to clean up the mess left by commercial ships.
There is some tweaking going on between now and September 2017/2019, for example the Guidelines for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems (G8) have been recently reviewed by an Intersessional Working Group at IMO. These new Guidelines address some concerns regarding the type approval of treatment plants and ‘first generation systems’ and in particular their level of performance in real world conditions.
Yachts in scope will have to
implement a Ballast Water and Sediments Management Plan, prepare their Ballast Water Record Books and adhere to standardised ballast water management procedures
During the last three MEPC sessions many member states have been divided on how best to address concerns over the new Guidelines including sampling, implementation and application dates, system availability, contingency measures and manufacturing standards. It is envisaged that the new Guidelines will in future become part of a mandatory code and thus it was deemed important to reach agreement before proceeding. The Guidelines are therefore yet to be formally ‘approved’ by the Member States who ratified the Convention, but hopefully will be by MEPC 72 next year.
Barbara Fountoukos is Head of Communications, ICOMIA. For more details Tel: +44 (0)1784 223702 or visit
www.imo.org
ONBOARD | AUTUMN 2017 | 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176