Ballast Water Management Convention

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments — known as the BWM Convention — was adopted by IMO in 2004 and entered into force in September 2017. It requires ships to manage their ballast water and sediments in order to prevent the introduction of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens from one region to another. The Convention establishes two performance standards: the D-1 ballast water exchange standard and the more stringent D-2 ballast water performance standard, which requires treatment to achieve specified concentrations of viable organisms. For a deck officer managing ballast operations, the BWM Convention requires every vessel to have an approved Ballast Water Management Plan, a ballast water record book, and — once the D-2 compliance date has been reached — an approved ballast water treatment system. The treatment system must be type-approved by the flag state and must be operated in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and the ship's management plan. Port state control officers check the International Ballast Water Management Certificate, the BWRB, and the treatment system's operational records. Water sampling is increasingly used to verify D-2 compliance at the port. Officers must understand the exchange or treatment requirements for each ballast tank and plan operations to achieve compliance at the required point in the voyage. Failure to comply may result in detention and significant financial penalties.