8 Recording and Reporting Procedures
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Resolutions - Assembly - IMO Resolution A.868(20) – Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water to Minimize the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens – (Adopted on 27 November 1997) - Annex - Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water to Minimize the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens - 8 Recording and Reporting Procedures

8 Recording and Reporting Procedures

  8.1 Procedures for Ships

  8.1.1 Where a port State authority requires that specific ballast water procedures and/or treatment option(s) be undertaken and, due to weather, sea conditions or operational impracticability such action cannot be taken, the master should report this fact to the port State authority as soon as possible and, where appropriate, prior to entering seas under its jurisdiction.

  8.1.2 To facilitate the administration of ballast water management and treatment procedures on board each ship, a responsible officer should be appointed to maintain appropriate records and to ensure that ballast water management and/or treatment procedures are followed and recorded.

  8.1.3 When taking on or discharging ballast water, as a minimum, the dates, geographical locations, ship's tank(s) and cargo holds, ballast water temperature and salinity as well as the amount of ballast water loaded or discharged should be recorded. A suitable format is shown in appendix 1. The record should be made available to the port State authority.

  8.1.4 The location and suitable access points for sampling ballast or sediment should be described in the ship's ballast water management plan. This will allow crew members to provide maximum assistance when officers of the port State authority require a sample of the ballast water or sediment.

  8.2 Procedures for port States

  8.2.1 Consistent with 5.2 above, port States should provide ships with the following information:

  • details of their requirements concerning ballast water management;
  • location and terms of use of alternative exchange zones;
  • any other port contingency arrangements; and
  • the availability, location, capacities of and applicable fees relevant to reception facilities that are being provided for the environmentally safe disposal of ballast water and associated sediment.

  8.2.2 To assist ships in applying the precautionary practices described in 9.1.1 below, port States should inform local agents and/or the ship of areas and situations where the uptake of ballast water should be minimized, such as:

  • areas with outbreaks, infestations or known populations of harmful organisms and pathogens;
  • areas with current phytoplankton blooms (algal blooms, such as red tides);
  • nearby sewage outfalls;
  • nearby dredging operations;
  • when a tidal stream is known to be the more turbid; and
  • areas where tidal flushing is known to be poor.
Parent topic: Annex - Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water to Minimize the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens
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