MEPC 53/24/Add.1

I:\MEPC\53\24-ADD-1.DOC ANNEX 1

RESOLUTION MEPC.123(53)

Adopted on 22 July 2005

GUIDELINES FOR BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT EQUIVALENT COMPLIANCE (G3)

THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION COMMITTEE,

RECALLING Article 38(a) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Marine Enviro nment Protection Committee conferred upon it by

the international conventions for the prevention and c ontrol of marine pollution,

RECALLING ALSO that the International C onference on Ballast Water Management for Ships held in February 2004 adopted the In ternational Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Se diments, 2004 (the Ballast Water Management Convention) together with four Conference resolutions,

NOTING that Regulation A-2 of the Ballast Wa ter Management Convent ion requires that discharge of ballast water shall only be co nducted through Ballast Water Management in accordance with the provisions of the Annex to the Convention,

NOTING FURTHER that Regulation A-5 of the Annex to the Ballast Water Management Convention provides that equivalent compliance with its provisions for pleas ure craft used solely for recreation or competition or craft used primarily for search and rescue, less than 50 metres in length overall, and with a maxi mum Ballast Water capacity of 8 cubic metres, shall be determined by the Administration taking into ac count Guidelines develo ped by the Organization,

NOTING ALSO that resolution 1 adopted by the International Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships invites the Organization to develop these Guidelines as a matter of

urgency,

HAVING CONSIDERED the draft Guidelines fo r ballast water management equivalent compliance developed by the Ballast Water Wo rking Group and the recommendation made by the Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases at its ninth session,

1. ADOPTS the Guidelines for ballast water management equivalent compliance, as set out in the annex to this resolution;

2. INVITES Governments to apply the Guidelines as soon as possible, or when the Convention becomes applicable to them; and

3. AGREES to keep the Guidelines under review.MEPC 53/24/Add.1

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I:\MEPC\53\24-ADD-1.DOC ANNEX

GUIDELINES FOR BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT EQUIVALENT COMPLIANCE (G3)

1 Administrations shall take these Guidelines in to account in determining whether ships satisfy the requirements of Regulation A-5, Equivalent compliance of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004. Ships subject to these Guidelines should, insofa r as practicable, comply with the Convention, and if that is not practicable, shall achieve equiva lent compliance in accordance with Regulation A-5

and these Guidelines.

Definitions

2 For the purpose of these Guidelines the definitions in the Convention apply.

Application

3 These Guidelines apply to pleasure craft used solely for recreation or competition or craft used primarily for search and rescue less than 50 metres in overall length and with a maximum ballast water capacity of eight cubic metres. Overall length means the length of the hull excluding bowsprits, booms, bumpkins, pulpits, etc.

Exceptions

4 These Guidelines do not apply to the uptake or discharge of ballast water and sediments:

.1 necessary for the purpose of ensuring the sa fety of a ship in emergency situations or saving life at sea;

.2 when being used for the purpose of a voiding or minimizing pollution incidents from the ship; and

.3 on the high seas of the same ballast water and sediments.

5 In addition, these Guidelines do not apply to:

.1 the accidental discharge or ingress of ba llast water and sediments resulting from damage to a ship or its equipment provi ded that all reasona ble precautions have

been taken before and after the occurren ce of the damage or discovery of the damage or discharge for the purpose of preventing or minimizing the discharge and the owner or the person in charge did not wilfully cause such damage;

.2 the discharge of ballast water and sedi ments from a ship at the same location

where the whole of that ballast water and those sediments originated provided that no mixing with unmanaged ballast water fr om other areas has occurred. In the context of these Guidelines, “same locati on” shall be taken to mean the same harbour, mooring or anchorage; andMEPC 53/24/Add.1

ANNEX 1 Page 3

I:\MEPC\53\24-ADD-1.DOC .3 the discharge of ballast wa ter and sediments if the mast er reasonably decides that compliance with these Guidelines would th reaten the safety or stability of the ship, its crew, or its passengers because of adverse weather, ship design or stress, equipment failure, or any ot her extraordinary condition.

Precautionary practices to minimize the uptak e or transfer of harmful aquatic organisms

and pathogens

Uptake of ballast water

6 Wherever possible, ballast water should be ta ken up outside of port waters and as far from the coast as practicable. In addi tion, consideration should be give n to the use of dockside water supplies (e.g. water not taken directly from the ha rbour; such as fresh wate r, potable water, etc.)

as the source for ballast water.

7 When loading ballast water, every effort should be made to avoid the uptake of potentially harmful aquatic organisms, pat hogens and sediments that may contain such organisms. The uptake of ballast water should be minimized or, where practicable, avoided in

areas and situations such as:

.1 in areas identified by the port State in connection with warnings provided by ports concerning ballast uptake and any other port continge ncy arrangements in the event of emerge ncy situations;

.2 in darkness when organisms ma y rise up in the water column;

.3 in very shallow water;

.4 where propellers may stir up sediment;

.5 areas with current large phytoplankton bloom s (algal blooms, such as red tides);

.6 nearby sewage outfalls;

.7 where a tidal stream is known to be more turbid;

.8 where tidal flushing is known to be poor; or

.9 in areas close to aquaculture.

8 If it is necessary to take on and discharge ballast water in the same location, care should be taken to avoid unnecessary discharge of ballast water that has been taken up in another location.

Discharge of ballast water

9 To prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminat e the transfer of harm ful aquatic organisms and pathogens to the maximum extent practicable taking into account th e nature of the ship Ballast Water should either be exchanged prior to discharge in accordance with Regulation B-4 or otherwise managed in accordance with the requ irements of the Administration. Any chemical treatment shall only use Active Substances approved by the Organization pursuant to Regulation D-3 of the Convention.MEPC 53/24/Add.1

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I:\MEPC\53\24-ADD-1.DOC Sediment control

10 Where practicable, routine cleaning of the ballast tank to remove sediments should be carried out under controlled arrangements, and suitable arrangements made for the environmentally sound disposal of any resulting sediments.

Compliance with other guidelines

11 Nothing in these Guidelines shall prevent a ship to which these Guidelines apply from using any method of Ballast Water Management approved under any other Guidelines issued by the Organization. If suitable new and emergent treatments and technologi es prove viable, these should be evaluated with a view to be incorpor ated, as appropriate, into these Guidelines.

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