November 2015: Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco have ratified the Ballast Water Management Convention, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), bringing the total number of ratifications to 47 States. The Convention aims to prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species through ships’ ballast water by requiring ships to have procedures and standards in place to manage and control ballast water.

Shipping is a major pathway for introducing invasive alien species (IAS) to new marine ecosystems, according to the IMO. Under the Convention, all ships in international traffic are required to manage their ballast water and sediments according to a ship-specific ballast water management (BWM) plan, including a ballast water record book and an international BWM certificate.

States adopted the BWM Convention in February 2004. It will enter into force 12 months after ratification of 30 States, representing at least 35% of world tonnage. Morocco’s ratification brought the total percent to 32.93%, according to IMO.

IMO and the Norwegian Development Cooperation Agency (Norad) supported capacity building projects through the GloBallast Programme in Indonesia prior to the country’s ratification of the BWM Convention. The Global Environment Facility (GEF), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and IMO implement the GloBallast Programme, which aims to help developing countries reduce the risk of IAS through expanding government and port management capacities, encouraging regional coordination, developing mechanisms for sustainability and promoting legal, institutional and policy reforms at national levels.

In Asia, senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reviewed the implementation of the BWM Convention during a regional meeting organized by the GloBallast Project Coordination Unit and IMO. Participants from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam updated ASEAN’s draft regional BWM strategy.

Also in November, Antigua and Barbuda acceded to multiple IMO treaties, including the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter; the 2005 Protocols to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (the SUA Convention); the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf; and the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL). [IMO News] [BWM Convention Website] [GloBallast Programme Website]