Maritime Operations

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Introduction

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ballast Water and Sediments was adopted February 13, 2004, after the diplomatic conference in London organized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) from 9 to 13 February. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs presented to the Cabinet, a bill authorizing accession to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ballast Water and Sediments. Under the terms of this convention adopted within the International Maritime Organization, States Parties undertake to mitigate, prevent and resolve the movement of dangerous aquatic pathogens and organisms using ships under measures and monitoring management system of ballast water and sediments. Two rules are provided: the ships will, initially, the obligation to renew at least 95% of ballast water at sea and they will, in a second time, have a management system for ballast water by treatment in order to ensure compliance with a maximum content of live microorganisms (Satkalmi, 200)

There are few suggestions provided in this convention which are also briefly discussed in the below reports. The Ships constructed before 2009 must meet the first rule until 2014 or 2016, depending on the volume of their ballasts. From these dates, they must satisfy the second. Ships built between 2009 and 2012 must comply immediately with the second rule, except those whose ballasts are greater than 5000 tons which will not apply until 2012. All ships built from 2012 must satisfy the second rule since they were built.

What is Ballast Water?

Ballast water are used in navigation sea to seek the stability of a ship. The technique involves direct admission or outlet of water from the environment in which the vessel is then, for complete or partial flooding of a specially designed containers or tanks within the hull. The process can be reversed and water is expelled from the vessel at a place which in general is usually from the original point of feeding.

The capacity of ballast water is proportional to the size of ships and loading conditions, can carry from a few hundred liters to 100 000 tones in the sediments are also included and in particular, living animals and plants, including viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms.

This technique was developed in the late nineteenth century to replace the traditional use of solids to the ballast, the preparation was more expensive, but over time has been recognized as a primary environmental problem, caused by the artificial introduction of alien species in unbalanced ecosystems eventually to compete with native species.Among the most serious intrusion technique favored by the ballast water is the zebra mussel Dreissenapolymorpha, native to the Caspian Sea and Black, and extended to inland waters of North America and Europe meridians, such as the Ebro basin in Spain, the round goby, also from the Caspian and Black seas, as well as so-called red tides or algal invasions.In 2004, it adopted the "International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments" (BWM Convention) which requires all ...