Resolution
MEPC.123(53)
GUIDELINES FOR BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT EQUIVALENT COMPLIANCE (G3)
(Adopted
on 22 July 2005)
THE
MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION COMMITTEE,
RECALLING
Article 38(a) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning
the functions of the Marine Environment Protection Committee conferred upon it
by the international conventions for the prevention and control of marine
pollution,
RECALLING
ALSO that the International Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships
held in February 2004 adopted the International Convention for the Control and
Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the Ballast Water
Management Convention) together with four Conference resolutions,
NOTING
that Regulation A-2 of the Ballast Water Management Convention requires that
discharge of ballast water shall only be conducted through Ballast Water
Management in accordance with the provisions of the Annex to the Convention,
NOTING
FURTHER that Regulation A-5 of the Annex to the Ballast Water Management
Convention provides that equivalent compliance with its provisions for pleasure
craft used solely for recreation or competition or craft used primarily for
search and rescue, less than 50 metres in length overall, and with a maximum
Ballast Water capacity of 8 cubic metres, shall be determined by the
Administration taking into account Guidelines developed by the Organization,
NOTING
ALSO that resolution 1 adopted by the International Conference on Ballast Water
Management for Ships invites the Organization to develop these Guidelines as a
matter of urgency,
HAVING
CONSIDERED the draft Guidelines for ballast water management equivalent
compliance developed by the Ballast Water Working Group and the recommendation
made by the Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases at its ninth session,
1.
ADOPTS the Guidelines for ballast water management equivalent compliance, as
set out in the annex to this resolution;
2.
INVITES Governments to apply the Guidelines as soon as possible, or when the
Convention becomes applicable to them; and
3.
AGREES to keep the Guidelines under review.
Annex.
GUIDELINES FOR BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT EQUIVALENT COMPLIANCE (G3)
1.
Administrations shall take these Guidelines into account in determining whether
ships satisfy the requirements of Regulation A-5, Equivalent compliance of the
International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water
and Sediments, 2004. Ships subject to these Guidelines should, insofar as
practicable, comply with the Convention, and if that is not practicable, shall
achieve equivalent compliance in accordance with Regulation A-5 and these
Guidelines.
2.
For the purpose of these Guidelines the definitions in the Convention apply.
3.
These Guidelines apply to pleasure craft used solely for recreation or
competition or craft used primarily for search and rescue less than 50 metres
in overall length and with a maximum ballast water capacity of eight cubic
metres. Overall length means the length of the hull excluding bowsprits, booms,
bumpkins, pulpits, etc.
4.
These Guidelines do not apply to the uptake or discharge of ballast water and
sediments:
.1 necessary for
the purpose of ensuring the safety of a ship in emergency situations or saving
life at sea;
.2 when being
used for the purpose of avoiding or minimizing pollution incidents from the
ship; and
.3 on the high
seas of the same ballast water and sediments.
5.
In addition, these Guidelines do not apply to:
.1 the accidental
discharge or ingress of ballast water and sediments resulting from damage to a
ship or its equipment provided that all reasonable precautions have been taken
before and after the occurrence of the damage or discovery of the damage or
discharge for the purpose of preventing or minimizing the discharge and the
owner or the person in charge did not wilfully cause such damage;
.2 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 provided that no mixing
with unmanaged ballast water from other areas has occurred. In the context of
these Guidelines, "same location" shall be taken to mean the same
harbour, mooring or anchorage; and
.3 the discharge
of ballast water and sediments if the master reasonably decides that compliance
with these Guidelines would threaten the safety or stability of the ship, its
crew, or its passengers because of adverse weather, ship design or stress,
equipment failure, or any other extraordinary condition.
Precautionary
practices to minimize the uptake or transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and
pathogens
6.
Wherever possible, ballast water should be taken up outside of port waters and
as far from the coast as practicable. In addition, consideration should be
given to the use of dockside water supplies (e.g. water not taken directly from
the harbour; such as fresh water, potable water, etc.) as the source for
ballast water.
7.
When loading ballast water, every effort should be made to avoid the uptake of
potentially harmful aquatic organisms, pathogens and sediments that may contain
such organisms. The uptake of ballast water should be minimized or, where
practicable, avoided in areas and situations such as:
.1 in areas
identified by the port State in connection with warnings provided by ports
concerning ballast uptake and any other port contingency arrangements in the
event of emergency situations;
.2 in darkness
when organisms may rise up in the water column;
.3 in very
shallow water;
.4 where
propellers may stir up sediment;
.5 areas with
current large phytoplankton blooms (algal blooms, such as red tides);
.6 nearby sewage
outfalls;
.7 where a tidal
stream is known to be more turbid;
.8 where tidal
flushing is known to be poor; or
.9 in areas
close to aquaculture.
8.
If it is necessary to take on and discharge ballast water in the same location,
care should be taken to avoid unnecessary discharge of ballast water that has
been taken up in another location.
9.
To prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the transfer of harmful aquatic
organisms and pathogens to the maximum extent practicable taking into account
the nature of the ship Ballast Water should either be exchanged prior to
discharge in accordance with Regulation B-4 or otherwise managed in accordance
with the requirements of the Administration. Any chemical treatment shall only
use Active Substances approved by the Organization pursuant to Regulation D-3
of the Convention.
10.
Where practicable, routine cleaning of the ballast tank to remove sediments
should be carried out under controlled arrangements, and suitable arrangements
made for the environmentally sound disposal of any resulting sediments.
Compliance with other
guidelines
11.
Nothing in these Guidelines shall prevent a ship to which these Guidelines
apply from using any method of Ballast Water Management approved under any
other Guidelines issued by the Organization. If suitable new and emergent
treatments and technologies prove viable, these should be evaluated with a view
to be incorporated, as