Legal Briefing (March 2011): Ballast Water Management

A safer and more effective management of ballast water 

On 13th February 2004, the IMO adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments. 

The purpose of the Convention is to develop asafer and more effective management of ballast water that would eliminate the risk of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens spreading from one part of the world to another causing harm to the environment, human health and property.  

The Convention aims to achieve this objective by instituting a series of regulations to manage the transfer and the discharge of ships’ ballast water.

The main obligation of the Convention is for parties to undertake certain actions in order to prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through the control and management of the ships’ ballast water and sediments.