- April 20, 2017
- 2017
- Comments : 0
Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) Implementation Requirements
20 April 2017 | C17021
The date of entry into force of the BWM Convention is fast approaching therefore Owners/ Managers are urged to take all necessary steps to comply with the requirements and be certified on time.
NOTICE TO
Ship Owners/ Managers/ Operators | Flag State Administrations | Surveyors/ Auditors
The BWMC applies to all ships including submersibles, floating craft, floating platforms, FSUs and FPSOs except to:
- ships not designed to carry ballast water
- ships not operating in international waters
- warships, naval auxiliary ships or other ships owned or operated by a state
- ships only on non-commercial service, or
- ships with permanent ballast water in sealed tanks.
All ships greater than 400 GT shall have on board:
- an approved ship specific Ballast Water Management Plan (BWMC Regulation B-1)
- a Ballast Water Record Book (BWMC Regulation B-2) and
- to be surveyed and issued with an International Ballast Water Management Certificate. For ships whose flag Administration has not ratified the BWMC a Statement of Compliance is issued.
Both the Certificates and the Statement will be valid for five years subject to annual, intermediate and renewal surveys.
Compliance schedule
Compliance with regulation D-2 requires the installation of an approved ballast water management system.
| Ballast Water Capacity in m3 | Construction Date | Compliance | Regulation | |||
| All | Existing Ships | Compliance by first IOPP* renewal survey after 08th September 2017 | Regulation D-1 (Ballast Water Exchange Standard) no later than 08th September 2017 | |||
| Regulation D-2 (Ballast Water Performance Standard) by first IOPP* renewal survey after 08th September 2017 | ||||||
| Ships constructed after entry into force | Compliance on delivery | Regulation D-2 (Ballast Water Performance Standard) | ||||
| *The IOPP renewal survey refers to the renewal survey associated with the IOPP Certificate required under Annex I to MARPOL 73/78 | ||||||
Decoupling IOPP Renewal Date
Until today, we have been inform by various Flag Administrations on different approaches on the implementation of the BWMC. The de-harmonization of the IOPP survey will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by each Flag Administration. Upon completion of the early renewal IOPP survey, Dromon shall issue a new Certificate with validity of five years.
| Flag | Signatory to BWMC | De-harmonization of IOPP | Relevant Circular |
| Belize | No | Acceptable on case-by-case | MMN-17-001 |
| Cook Islands | Yes | Acceptable on case-by-case | 150 / 2017 |
| Panama | Yes | Acceptable on case-by-case | MMC-345 |
| Moldova | No | Acceptable | Circ. Letter No: 2018 from 31 March 2017 |
| Tanzania | No | –* | — |
| Togo | No | Acceptable on case-by-case | 0017C/TG/03/17 |
| Sierra Leone | Yes | Acceptable on case-by-case | Maritime Circ. No. 35 |
| *No information has been received yet. | |||
It is required that the IOPP Certificate must be re-harmonized with the remaining renewal surveys at the earliest possible opportunity and not further than the next IOPP renewal survey.
Act now
Owners/ Managers/ Operators are urged to submit to Dromon Engineering Department their Ballast Water Management Plans for review and approval in order to avoid any problems or delays due to the submission of a great number of plans in the very close period to the entry into force of the Convention.
In addition it must be ensured that seafarers on board are familiar with their duties related to the implementation of BWMC, particular to the ship on which they serve. Seafarers must have a sound understanding of the BWMC, the implementation of the ship specific BWMP; the ballast water exchange procedures, sediment management procedures; and the Ballast Water Record Book (BWRB), and reporting functions.
