Source: International Marine Contractors Association – IMCA
Headline: Amendments to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004
The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the BWM Convention) is intended to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms, and damage to the marine environment, from ballast water discharge by minimising the uptake and discharge of sediments and organisms.
A key element of the BWM Convention is the recording of ballast water discharge operations from ships through the maintenance of a ballast water record book (BWRB).
New requirements for the reporting of ballast water discharge come into force this year, following resolutions made at the 80th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee in July 2023. These changes, summarised in IMCA Information Note 1669, include a new form for reporting ballast water discharges from 1 February 2025 and, from 1 October 2025, a requirement for flag state administrations to approve the use of electronic BWRBs.