Annex – Applicability of Ballast Water Management Convention to the Water in the Hopper Area of Hopper Dredgers
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Ballast Water Management - BWM.2/Circular.32 – International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 – (8 August 2011)Applicability of the Ballast Water Management Convention to hopper dredgers - Annex – Applicability of Ballast Water Management Convention to the Water in the Hopper Area of Hopper Dredgers

Annex – Applicability of Ballast Water Management Convention to the Water in the Hopper Area of Hopper Dredgers

  1 Hopper dredgers can be equipped with one or more large suction pipes, a cargo hold in the form of a hopper, several ballast tanks as well as multiple high-capacity pumps. The "hoppers" are the cargo compartments where the dredged material is contained and transported. Hoppers are not considered to be ballast tanks. For stability requirements, the hoppers are not considered to provide buoyancy. The hopper wall forms part of the vessel hull for construction requirements, and it has the same thickness requirements as the outboard hull.

  2 According to Article 1.2 of the Ballast Water Management Convention, "Ballast Water" means water with its suspended matter taken on board a ship to control trim, list, draught, stability or stresses of the ship. Water in the hopper is considered as outboard water, i.e. the water is not taken aboard. Furthermore, the water is not used to control trim, list, draught or stresses of the ship. For that reason, water present in the hopper area is not considered as ballast water.

  3 Consequently, the Committee concluded that the provisions of the Ballast Water Management Convention are not applicable to the water in the hopper area of hopper dredgers.

Parent topic: BWM.2/Circular.32 – International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 – (8 August 2011)Applicability of the Ballast Water Management Convention to hopper dredgers
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