International (IMO) Arthur Huxham International (IMO) Arthur Huxham

Proposal for a Unified Interpretation for Implementing Regulation D-3 of the BWM Convention

This document provides a proposal for a unified interpretation to clarify the installation date provisions applicable to ballast water management systems (BWMS) approved taking into account the 2016 Guidelines (G8) (resolution MEPC.279(70)), with a view to ensuring consistent implementation under the Convention. This proposal is based on the identified inconsistencies and interpretational difficulties between regulation D-3 and the BWMS Code regarding permitted installation dates, as well as recent port State control (PSC) observations under the Paris and Tokyo MOU concentrated inspection campaigns (CIC), which indicate that these inconsistencies have resulted in confusion within the industry.

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International (IMO) Arthur Huxham International (IMO) Arthur Huxham

Proposal for Converting the Interim Guidance on the application of the BWM Convention to Ships operating in Challenging Water Quality Conditions into a Standard Guidance

This document provides a proposal to convert the Interim guidance on the application of the BWM Convention to ships operating in challenging water quality conditions (resolution MEPC.387(81)) into a standard guidance, to streamline the reactive bypass and decontamination procedures, and to mitigate constraints arising from the designation of ballast water exchange (BWE) areas under the current Guidance. The proposal takes into account the ongoing review of the BWM Convention, the operational challenges encountered by ships and crews in implementing the existing procedures, and study results demonstrating that the application of ballast water exchange plus treatment (BWE + BWT) alone ensures compliance with the D-2 standard even when ballast water is bypass-taken under CWQ conditions.

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