Following the UK’s accession earlier in 2022 to the IMO International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (Ballast Water Convention), the UK domestic regulations for ballast water meanagemnt have entered into force on 29 July 2022 in order to formally implement the Convention requirements.
The regulations establish standards and procedures for the management and control of ships’ ballast water and sediments, establish a survey and certification regime for ships and prescribe technical requirements relating to ballast water management systems installed on ships. The UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency has published MSN 1908 and MGN 675, which, respectively, provide the detailed technical requirements of the obligations contained in the Regulations, and provide guidance on certain aspects of the Regulations. These documents have replaced the MCA’s previous ballast water FAQs.
The UK Chamber of Shipping says that it will continue to work collaboratively with the UK Government and other industry stakeholders to help improve the implementation of the Convention considering the experience gained over the last few years.
