Page 18 - INTERCARGO - Annual Report Report 2022 - 2023

INDUSTRY TOPICS
ANNUAL REVIEW

Ballast Water Management For more information on this topic please visit:
intercargo.org/topics/ballast

The International Involving new regulations and the fitting and operation of
equipment that had previously not been used on ships , the
Convention for the Control implementation of the Convention has, unsurprisingly, led to
and Management of a number of challenges.
Ships’ Ballast Water and These especially relate to the performance of ballast water
treatment systems, the operating conditions and locations
Sediments (Ballast Water of vessels, and the global coverage of technical support for
Convention) entered into the systems involved. It is important to note that while ships
are certified for global trade, many of the available systems
force on 8th September, are not certified or able to perform in all locations and con-
2017. ditions that vessels may trade in, and this is particularly true
for the bulk carrier fleet.
INTERCARGO has co-sponsored a number of papers to
IMO on the Convention Review, in particular on challenging
water quality. It is hoped these ongoing discussions at the
IMO will also play a part in solving some of the other ballast
water management issues faced by ship operators.

It is also important that we have an holistic approach to
regulation. Shipping is on a journey to decarbonise, which
in the short term to mid-term will mean finding efficiencies
and, ultimately, using less power. However, regulations such
as the Ballast Water Management Convention effectively re-
quire vessels to use more power and thus produce more
emissions, meaning that one environmental regulation can
potentially have a negative effect on another. The regula-
tors should recognise the consequences of all regulations
and how they may impact each other.

16