MEPC at its fifty third session adopted guidelines for ballast water management equivalence, guidelines for ballast water exchange, guidelines for ballast water management systems, guidelines for ballast water management and the development of ballast water management plans, and the procedure for approval of ballast water management systems that make use of active substances (see IMO document MEPC 53 WP.16).

Harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water

(g) Harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water

So quite often you load water for ballast.

Procedures for dealing with ballast water include exchange of ballast at sea and discharge at reception facilities.

Control of harmful organisms and pathogens in ballast water

It also established a ballast water review group to determine whether appropriate technologies are available to achieve the ballast water performance standard required under regulation D 2.

They ended up swimming through ballast water that had oil in it.

Because when tankers carry oil they have to have ballast at some point, so when they're empty, they have the ballast water in there.

When they come back, they actually dump this oily ballast water into the ocean.

We tried in the water without any skin or ballast just to see how it works.

356. It is estimated that about 10 billion tonnes of ballast water is transferred each year.

Discharged ballast water is said to be the most prominent medium for transferring new or alien species.

IMO adopted the new Guidelines for Ships Operating in Arctic Ice Covered Water in 2002, and a new convention to prevent the potentially devastating effects of alien invasive species in ballast water, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, in February 2004.

52. Further calls upon States to accelerate the development of measures to address the problem of invasive alien species in ballast water, and urges the International Maritime Organization to finalize the International Convention on the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments

The introduction of non native species or diseases, including from ballast water and hull fouling, is a global concern.

358. Recommendations in the Guidelines for dealing with the problem, including ways to reduce the chances of taking harmful organisms on board, include informing local agents and or ships of areas and situations where uptake of ballast water should be minimized, such as areas with known populations of harmful pathogens advising ships to avoid loading ballast water in very shallow water or in areas where propellers may stir up sediment and avoiding the unnecessary discharge of ballast.

362. Inadequate reception facilities for dirty ballast water, waste oil and garbage present a serious worldwide problem for the shipping industry.

It's really a question of the system, how the ship was loaded, the ballast and many other things.

Alien species once established are very difficult, if not impossible to eradicate. 244. IMO has been addressing the problem of the introduction of unwanted aquatic organisms and pathogens through the discharge of ships apos ballast water (see paras. 303 306). Discharge of ballast water is said to be the most prominent media for transferring new or alien species.

Appendix 2 of the Guidelines provides guidance on the safety aspects of ballast water exchange at sea (see also A 52 487, paras. 324 325).

357. The Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water to Minimize the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens, which were adopted by the IMO Assembly at its twentieth session by resolution A.868(20), are aimed at minimizing the introduction of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens from ships ballast water and associated sediments while protecting the safety of ships.

Throwing overboard, as ballast, to change our direction.

Well, in a balloon it's easy, we have ballast.

And when we drop the ballast overboard we climb.

All right. Soon as I take on some ballast.

H. Water system and utilities

The water system, is seen as vulnerable.

The resolution notes the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and that the transfer and introduction of alien aquatic species with ballast water threatens the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

GEF Global Environment Facility GEMS WATER Global Environmental Monitoring System Water Quality Monitoring Programme

What you're seeing here is a water filtration system.

Balance at 1 January 1996 rehabilitation of water supply system

Upgrading of the Khan Younis water supply system 4 million

No, the pioneer is the one who allows himself to throw overboard a lot of ballast.

In order to prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the risks arising from the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens by ships, IMO adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments in 2004.

Tonnes of the Class A drug were crammed in the ship's ballast tank when it was raided

As ships travel faster and faster, the survival rates of species carried in ballast tanks has increased.

Water meters increased in 1994 by almost 2 per cent as more homes were connected to the government water system.

The question I leave you with now is which is the ballast you would like to throw overboard?

57. Also welcomes the adoption by the International Maritime Organization of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments,International Maritime Organization, document BWM CONF 36, annex. and calls upon States to become parties to that Convention

314. Developments in IMO in addressing the problem of the introduction of unwanted aquatic organisms and pathogens through the discharge of ships ballast water are presented in the section of the present report dealing with pollution from vessels (see paras. 356 359).

The sanitary conditions are very precarious 49 of aggregates are supplied with water from the public wells, 30 from the surface water, 20 from the canalized water system, and less than 1 from rain water.

That's when you throw out all the ballast, all the certainties, in order to adapt to the new situation.

359. In the resolution MEPC is requested to work towards the completion of legally binding provisions on ballast water management, in the form of a new annex to MARPOL 73 78, which could be adopted by the Conference of Parties to MARPOL in 2000.

As part of its efforts during the Water for Life Decade, UNEP will also strengthen the UNEP Global Environmental Monitoring System on Water as a global repository for water quality data.