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With the purpose of preventing the spread of invasive species, the International Maritime Organization adopted The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (Ballast Water Convention) which entered into force on 8th September 2017.
Vessels constructed on or after 8th September 2017 have been required to install a Ballast Water Treatment System to comply with the Conventions discharge requirements. For vessels constructed prior to this date, compliance with the Convention’s D-2 depended on the vessel’s IOPP survey cycle with the final deadline being 8th September 2024.
The relatively recent entry into force of the Convention, involving new regulations and the fitting and operation of equipment that had previously not been used on ships has led, unsurprisingly, to a number of challenges.
The implementation challenges of the Convention especially relate to the performance of ballast water treatment systems, the operating conditions and locations of vessels, and the global coverage of technical support for the systems involved. It is important to note that while ships are certified for global trade, many of the available systems are not certified or able to perform in all locations and conditions that vessels may trade in, and this is particularly true for the bulk carrier fleet.
A holistic approach to regulations is also important. Shipping is trying to decarbonise which in the short to mid-term will mean finding efficiencies and ultimately using less power. However, regulations such as the Ballast Water Management Convention effectively require vessels to use more power and thus produce more emissions, leading to a situation where one environmental regulation potentially has a negative effect on another environmental regulation. Regulators should recognise the consequences of all regulations and how they may impact each other.
