This legislation will be applicable to all ships that carry
out ballast water discharge in Brazilian jurisdictional waters and
shall enter into force as from 15 October 2005.
This legislation stipulates, as a mandatory requirement,
that all ships intending to discharge ballast water in Brazilian jurisdictional
waters shall:
In cases where the ship is unable to conduct ballast water
exchange as stipulated above, it shall be done as far as possible
from the nearest land and in all cases at least 50 nautical miles
from the coast and in water at least 200 metres in depth.
In cases where the ship is unable to carry out ballast water
exchange, ballast water shall be retained on board and only a minimum
amount may be authorised for discharge, with the consent of the Maritime
Authority Agent. In such cases the master should notify the Maritime
Authority in advance.
The three methods for ballast water exchange - sequential,
flow-through and dilution - will be accepted. When the flow-through
or dilution method is used, at least three times the tank's volume
should be pumped. Ballast water exchange should be carried out with
an efficiency of at least 95% volumetric exchange.
Ballast water exchange will also be required for ships engaged
in commercial navigation between distinct hydrographical basins and
between maritime and fluvial ports.
Special provisions apply to ports of the Amazon Basin, where
an additional exchange will be required in order to reduce the ballast
water salinity, and should take place between the isobathic of 20
metres and Macapá. For ships with a ballast capacity of less
than 5000m3 the additional exchange should be carried out
at the mouth of the river Jari. For this additional exchange the tank's
volume only needs to be pumped once. The same applies to the River
Pará, for which the additional exchange should be conducted
at least sixty nautical miles from Salinópolis up until the
lighthouse of Ponta do Chapéu Virado (Masqueiro Island).
Monitoring of the above provisions will be done through
the inspection of the Ballast Management Plan and the Ballast Water
Reporting Form. The Ship must send a copy of the Ballast Water Reporting
Form to the relevant agency twenty-four hours prior to the estimated
time of arrival.
Monitoring may also include the collection and analysis
of a ballast water sample.
Violations of the provisions will be sanctioned according
to the national law, which may include warnings, fines, detention
or prohibition of the ship's entry in the port or terminal.
The requirements of these provisions shall not apply to:
-
- the uptake or discharge of ballast water and
sediments necessary for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the
ship in an emergency situation or saving life at sea;
-
- The accidental discharge or ingress of ballast
water and sediments resulting from damage to the ship or its equipment;
-
- The uptake and discharge of ballast water and
sediments when used for the purpose of avoiding or minimizing pollution
incidents from the ship; and
-
- The discharge of Ballast Water and Sediments
from a ship at the same location where the whole of that Ballast Water
and those sediments originated and provided that mixing with un-managed
ballast water and sediments from other areas has not occurred.
The following ships are exempt from these provisions: war
ships or ships owned or operated by a Estate and employed in non-commercial
voyages, ships with sealed ballast tanks not subject to discharge,
maritime and port support vessels, ships whose design characteristics
do not allow ballast exchange, and recreational and search and rescue
vessels, with less than 50 metres in length and with a maximum ballast
capacity of eight cubic metres.
More detailed information about these provisions can be
obtained from secom@dpc.mar.mil.br.