The Marine Environment Protection Committee,
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Resolutions - Marine Environment Protection Committee - Resolution MEPC.289(71) - 2017 Guidelines for Risk Assessment Under Regulation A-4 Of The BWM Convention (G7) - (adopted on 7 July 2017) - The Marine Environment Protection Committee,

The Marine Environment Protection Committee,

 RECALLING Article 38(a) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Marine Environment Protection Committee conferred upon it by international conventions for the prevention and control of marine pollution from ships,

RECALLING ALSO that the International Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships held in February 2004 adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the Convention) together with four Conference resolutions,

NOTING that regulation A-2 of the Convention requires that discharge of ballast water shall only be conducted through ballast water management in accordance with the provisions of the annex to the Convention,

NOTING ALSO that regulation A-4 of the Convention stipulates that a Party or Parties, in waters under their jurisdiction, may grant exemptions to any requirements to apply regulation B-3 or C-1, in addition to those exemptions contained elsewhere in this Convention, but only when they are, inter alia, granted based on the guidelines on risk assessment developed by the Organization,

NOTING FURTHER resolution MEPC.162(56) by which it adopted Guidelines for risk assessment under regulation A-4 of the BWM Convention (G7),

RECALLING that, at its seventieth session, it endorsed the view of the Ballast Water Review Group that the same risk area (SRA) concept was in line with the Guidelines (G7); that no further guidance on the matter was necessary; and that Administrations may grant exemptions in accordance with regulation A-4 of the Convention based on the SRA concept, subject to consultation and agreement between States that may be affected by such exemptions,

RECALLING ALSO that in this regard, at its seventieth session, it invited proposals for minor amendments to the Guidelines (G7), in order to better clarify the relationship between the Guidelines and the SRA concept, to its seventy-first session,

HAVING CONSIDERED, at its seventy-first session, draft amendments to the Guidelines (G7) to introduce the SRA concept,

1 ADOPTS the 2017 Guidelines for risk assessment under regulation A-4 of the BWM Convention (G7) (the 2017 Guidelines (G7)), as set out in the annex to this resolution;

2 INVITES Governments to apply the 2017 Guidelines (G7) as soon as possible, or when the Convention becomes applicable to them;

3 AGREES to keep the 2017 Guidelines (G7) under review;

4 SUPERSEDES the Guidelines for risk assessment under regulation A-4 of the BWM Convention (G7) adopted by resolution MEPC.162(56).


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