MEPC 55/23 

 

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ANNEX 5 

RESOLUTION MEPC.153(55) 

Adopted on 13 October 2006 

 GUIDELINES FOR BALLAST WATER RECEPTION FACILITIES (G5) 

 

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 the international conventions for the prevention and control of marine 

pollution, 

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 Ballast Water Management 

Convention) together with four Conference resolutions, 

NOTING that Regulation A-2 of the Ballast Water Management 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 FURTHER that Regulation B-3.6 of the Ballast Water Management 

Convention provides that, the requirements of ballast water management standards do not apply 

to ships that discharge ballast water to a reception facility designed taking into account the 

Guidelines developed by the Organization for such facilities, 

NOTING ALSO that resolution 1 adopted by the International Conference on Ballast 

Water Management for Ships invited the Organization to develop these Guidelines as a matter of 

urgency, 

HAVING CONSIDERED, at its fifty-fifth session, the draft the Guidelines for ballast 

water reception facilities (G5) developed by the Ballast Water Working Group, and the 

recommendation made by the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation at its fourteenth 

session, 

1. ADOPTS the Guidelines for ballast water reception facilities (G5) as set out in the Annex 

to this resolution; 

2. INVITES Governments to apply these Guidelines as soon as possible, or when the 

Convention becomes applicable to them; and 

3. AGREES to keep these Guidelines under review. 
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ANNEX 

GUIDELINES FOR BALLAST WATER RECEPTION FACILITIES (G5) 

1 INTRODUCTION 

Purpose 

1.1 The purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance for the provision of facilities for 

the reception of ballast water as referred to in Regulation B-3.6 of the Convention. These 

guidelines are not intended to require that a Party shall provide such facilities. The guidance is 

also intended to encourage a worldwide uniform interface between such facilities and the ships 

without prescribing dedicated shoreside reception plants. 

Application 

1.2 These guidelines apply to ballast water reception facilities referred to in the International 

Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (the 

Convention), Regulation B-3.6. 

1.3 These guidelines do not apply to reception facilities for sediment referred to in Article 5 

and Regulation B-5 of the Convention. 

2 DEFINITIONS 

2.1 For the purposes of these guidelines, the definitions in Article 1 and Regulation A-1 of 

the Convention apply.

3 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BALLAST WATER RECEPTION 

FACILITIES 

3.1 A ballast water reception facility should be capable of receiving ballast water from ships 

so as not to create a risk to the environment, human health, property and resources arising from 

the release to the environment of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens. A facility should 

provide pipelines, manifolds, reducers, equipment and other resources to enable, as far as 

practicable, all ships wishing to discharge ballast water in a port to use the facility. The facility 

should provide adequate equipment for mooring ships using the facility and when applicable safe 

anchorage. 

3.2 Each Party shall report to the Organization and, where appropriate, make available to 

other Parties, information on the availability and location of any reception facilities for the 

environmentally safe disposal of ballast water. 

4 PROVISION OF BALLAST WATER RECEPTION FACILITIES 

4.1 When considering the requirements of these facilities many factors will have to be taken 

into account, these should include but not be limited to: 
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.1 regional, national and local legislation which will affect the facility and related to 

the items below; 

.2 site selection; 

.3 ship type and size that will use the facility; 

.4 ship configurations; 

.5 mooring requirements; 

.6 handling of ballast water; 

.7 sampling, testing and analysis of ballast water; 

.8 storage and of conditions of ballast water; 

.9 environmental benefits and costs; 

.10 proximity of available sites to local ports; 

.11 effect on the environment in construction and operation of the facility; 

.12 training of facility staff; 

.13 human health; 

.14 safety; 

.15 maintenance; 

.16 operational limitations; 

.17 waterway access, approaches and traffic management; and 

.18 the amount of ballast water likely to be received. 

5 TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL OF RECEIVED BALLAST 

5.1 Disposal of ballast water from a reception facility should not create a risk to the 

environment, human health, property and resources arising from the release or transfer to the 

environment of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens. 

5.2 Treatment methods applied to the ballast water should not produce effects that may create 

a risk to the environment, human health, property and resources. 

5.3 Where ballast water is disposed into the aquatic environment it should at least meet the 

ballast water performance standard specified in Regulation D-2 of the Convention. Disposal to 

other environments should be to a standard acceptable to the Port State. Such a standard should 

not create a risk to the environment, human health, property and resources arising from the 

release or transfer to the environment of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens. 

6 SUSPENDED MATTER 

6.1 Ballast water discharged from a ship should be accepted by the ballast water reception 

facility including its suspended matter. 

7 CAPABILITIES OF A RECEPTION FACILITY 

7.1 Details of the capabilities and any capacity limitations of a treatment facility should be 

made available to the ships that intend to use the facility. 

7.2 The details made available to ships should include but not be limited to: 

.1 maximum volumetric capacity of ballast water; 

.2 maximum volume of ballast water that can be handled at any one time; 
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.3 maximum transfer rates of ballast water (cubic metres per hour); 

.4 hours of operation; 

.5 ports, berths, areas where access to the facility is available; 

.6 ship-to-shore pipeline connection details (pipeline size and reducers available); 

.7 if ship or shore crew are required for duties such as to connect or disconnect 

hoses; 

.8 contact details for the facility; 

.9 how to request use of the facility including any notice period and what 

information is required from the ship; 

.10 all applicable fees; and 

.11 other relevant information. 

7.4 The facility should provide ship to shore connections that are compatible with a 

recognized standard such as those in the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) 

“Recommendations for Oil Tankers Manifolds and Associated Equipment”. It is recognized that 

this standard was originally produced for oil tankers however the general principles in this 

standard can be applied to connections for ballast transfer on other ship types in particular the 

sections related to flanges and connection methods. 

8 TRAINING 

8.1 Personnel in charge of and those employed in the provision of a ballast water reception 

facility including the treatment and disposal of ballast water should have received adequate 

instruction. Frequent training should include but not be limited to: 

.1 the purpose and principles of the Convention; 

.2 the risks to the environment and human health; 

.3 risk associated with the handling of ballast water including both general safety 

and human health risks; 

.4 safety; 

.5 adequate knowledge of the equipment involved; 

.6 a sufficient understanding of ships using the facility, and any operational 

constraints; 

.7 the ship/port communication interface; and 

.8 an understanding of local disposal controls. 

8.2 The training should be organized by the manager or the operator of the reception facility 

and delivered by suitably qualified professionals. 

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