iii Foreword The harmful effects of unwanted species in ships’ ballast water was ?rst re- ported to IMO in 1988, when Canada informed the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) about invasive aquatic species in the Great Lakes. In response, the MEPC adopted in 1991 the ?rst voluntary guidelines for preventing the introduction into the marine environment of unwanted aquatic organisms and pathogens from ships’ ballast waters and sediment discharges. Following the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the MEPC guidelines were reviewed and adopted as an Assembly resolution in 1993. The twentieth session of the IMO Assembly in 1997 adopted resolution A.868(20), Guidelines for the control and management of ships’ ballast water to minimize the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens, which superseded earlier and less comprehensive guidelines. The new resolution requested Governments to take urgent action in applying the guidelines and to report any experi- ence gained in their implementation to the MEPC. The resolution further requested the MEPC to work towards the completion of legally binding provisions on ballast water management together with guidelines for their uniform and effective implementation. From 1999 onwards, the Ballast Water Working Group, established by the MEPC in 1994, focused on the preparation of a free-standing Convention on control and management of ships’ ballast water and sediments. In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, called for action at all levels to accelerate the development of measures to address invasive alien species in ballast water. The introduction of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens to new environments has been identi?ed as one of the four greatest threats to the world’s oceans (the other three being land-sourced marine pollution, overexploitation of living marine resources and destruction of habitat). Proper control and management of ships’ ballast water is therefore a major environmental challenge for IMO and the global shipping industry. In accordance with Article 2(b) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization, the IMO Council agreed in principle to convene a diplomatic conference in 2003 to consider the adoption of the instrument. iv Foreword At its eighty-ninth session in November 2002, the Council reconsidered the matter and approved the convening of the Diplomatic Conference in early 2004. The decision of the Council was endorsed by the twenty-third session of the Assembly in December 2003 and the International Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships was held at IMO’s Headquarters in London from 9 to 13 February 2004. The Conference adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (the Ballast Water Management Convention or BWM Convention), together with four confer- ence resolutions. Several articles and regulations of the BWM Convention refer to guidelines to be developed by the Organization and Conference resolution 1 invites IMO to develop these guidelines as a matter of urgency and adopt them as soon as practicable and, in any case, before the entry into force of the Convention, with a view to facilitate global and uniform implementation of the instrument. The MEPC, at its ?fty-?rst session in April 2004, approved a programme for the development of guidelines and procedures for uniform implementa- tion of the BWM Convention, listed in Conference resolution 1, including additional guidance required but not listed in the resolution. The programme was further expanded at the ?fty-third session of the MEPC in July 2005 to develop and adopt 14 sets of Guidelines, the last one being adopted by resolution MEPC.173(58) in October 2008. This 2009 edition reproduces the text of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, the four Conference resolutions, and the 14 sets of Guidelines developed and adopted by the MEPC of the Organization. v CONTENTS Page International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 Article 1 – De?nitions ......................................... 2 Article 2 – General obligations ................................. 3 Article 3 – Application ........................................ 4 Article 4 – Control of the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through ships’ ballast water and sediments .... 6 Article 5 – Sediment reception facilities .......................... 6 Article 6 – Scienti?c and technical research and monitoring ........ 6 Article 7 – Survey and certi?cation .............................. 7 Article 8 – Violations .......................................... 7 Article 9 – Inspection of ships .................................. 8 Article 10 – Detection of violations and control of ships ............. 9 Article 11 – Noti?cation of control actions ........................ 9 Article 12 – Undue delay to ships ............................... 10 Article 13 – Technical assistance, co-operation and regional co-operation ............................... 10 Article 14 – Communication of information ....................... 11 Article 15 – Dispute settlement ................................. 11 Article 16 – Relationship to international law and other agreements .................................. 11 Article 17 – Signature, rati?cation, acceptance, approval and accession ..................................... 11 Article 18 – Entry into force .................................... 12 vi Contents Page Article 19 – Amendments ...................................... 13 Article 20 – Denunciation ...................................... 15 Article 21 – Depositary ........................................ 15 Article 22 – Languages ........................................ 16 Annex – Regulations for the control and management of ships’ ballast water and sediments Section A – General provisions Regulation A-1 – De?nitions ............................... 17 Regulation A-2 – General applicability ...................... 18 Regulation A-3 – Exceptions ............................... 19 Regulation A-4 – Exemptions .............................. 19 Regulation A-5 – Equivalent compliance ..................... 20 Section B – Management and control requirements for ships Regulation B-1 – Ballast water management plan ............. 20 Regulation B-2 – Ballast water record book .................. 21 Regulation B-3 – Ballast water management for ships .......... 22 Regulation B-4 – Ballast water exchange .................... 23 Regulation B-5 – Sediment management for ships ............ 24 Regulation B-6 – Duties of of?cers and crew ................. 24 Section C – Special requirements in certain areas Regulation C-1 – Additional measures ...................... 24 Regulation C-2 – Warnings concerning ballast water uptake in certain areas and related ?ag State measures .. 26 Regulation C-3 – Communication of information .............. 26 vii Contents Page Section D – Standards for ballast water management Regulation D-1 – Ballast water exchange standard ............ 27 Regulation D-2 – Ballast water performance standard ......... 27 Regulation D-3 – Approval requirements for ballast water management systems ...................... 27 Regulation D-4 – Prototype ballast water treatment technologies 28 Regulation D-5 – Review of standards by the Organization ..... 28 Section E – Survey and certification requirements for ballast water management Regulation E-1 – Surveys .................................. 30 Regulation E-2 – Issuance or endorsement of a Certi?cate ..... 32 Regulation E-3 – Issuance or endorsement of a Certi?cate by another Party .......................... 33 Regulation E-4 – Form of the Certi?cate ..................... 33 Regulation E-5 – Duration and validity of the Certi?cate ....... 33 Appendices to annex Appendix I – Form of International Ballast Water Management Certi?cate ................... 36 Appendix II – Form of ballast water record book ........... 42 Resolutions adopted by the Conference Resolution 1 – Future work by the Organization pertaining to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments ............................ 46 Resolution 2 – The use of decision-making tools when reviewing the standards pursuant to regulation D-5 ............................ 48 viii Contents Page Resolution 3 – Promotion of technical co-operation and assistance ................................ 49 Resolution 4 – Review of the Annex to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments ........ 51