Resolution
MEPC.149(55)
GUIDELINES FOR BALLAST WATER EXCHANGE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS (G11)
(Adopted on 13 October 2006)
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 D-1 of the Ballast
Water Management Convention stipulates that ships performing ballast water
exchange shall do so with an efficiency of at least 95 per cent volumetric
exchange of ballast water and that MEPC 51 identified the need for additional
guidance on design and construction standards for ships conducting ballast
water exchange,
NOTING ALSO that resolution 1 adopted by the
International Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships invited the
Organization to develop the Guidelines for uniform application of the
Convention as a matter of urgency,
HAVING CONSIDERED, at its fifty-fifth session, the
draft Guidelines for ballast water exchange design and construction standards
(G11) developed by the Ballast Water Working Group, and the recommendation made
by the Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases at its tenth session,
1.ADOPTS the Guidelines for ballast water exchange
design and construction standards (G11);
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.
Annex.
GUIDELINES FOR BALLAST WATER EXCHANGE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS (G11)
1.1 These Guidelines outline recommendations for the
design and construction of ships to assist compliance with Regulation D-1
(Ballast Water Exchange Standard) of the International Convention for the
Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (the Convention).
1.2 These Guidelines have been developed to give
guidance to shipbuilders, ship designers, owners and operators of ships in
designing safe, environmentally acceptable, technically achievable,
practicable, and cost effective ballast water exchange as required in
Regulation D-1.
1.3 These Guidelines should be applied without
compromising the ship’s safety and operational efficiency and taking into
account the design of ship types, which may have special safety considerations
for example container ships and bulk carriers.
2.1 For the purposes of these Guidelines, the
definitions in the Convention apply and:
.1
"Ballast Water Tank" - means any tank, hold or space used for the
carriage of ballast water as defined in Article 1 of the Convention.
.2
"Sequential Method" - means a process by which a ballast tank
intended for the carriage of ballast water is first emptied and then re-filled
with replacement ballast water to achieve at least a 95 per cent volumetric
exchange.
.3
"Flow-through Method" - means a process by which the replacement ballast
water is pumped into a ballast tank intended for the carriage of ballast water,
allowing water to flow through overflow or other arrangements.
.4
"Dilution Method" - means a process by which replacement ballast
water is filled through the top of the ballast tank intended for the carriage
of ballast water with simultaneous discharge from the bottom at the same flow
rate and maintaining a constant level in the tank throughout the ballast
exchange system.
3. BALLAST WATER
EXCHANGE - DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERATIONS
3.1 When designing and constructing a ship that will
operate with ballast water exchange the following considerations should be
taken into account:
.1
maximizing the efficiency of ballast water exchange;
.2
increasing the range of sea conditions under which ballast water exchange may
be conducted safely;
.3
shortening the time to complete ballast water exchange (thereby increasing the
types of voyages under which ballast water exchange can be undertaken safely);
and
.4
minimizing the accumulation of sediments (refer to Guidelines on design and
construction to facilitate sediment control on ships (G12)).
Consideration at the design
phase of new ships
3.2 When designing new ships the following aspects
related to ballast water management equipment should be considered:
.1
ballast water management and the processes chosen to achieve it, should be
considered as a component of the ship’s design;
.2
design and installation of the ballast water pumping and piping system should
ensure that ease of operation and maintenance is maximized;
.3
ballast tank design should facilitate all aspects of ballast water management;
.4
installation of monitoring and/or recording equipment for all ballast water
operations and treatment processes. If any records are automatically recorded
by the equipment they should be in a format that can easily be retained and be
made readily available to appropriate authorities;
.5
remote data management;
.6
the design of the ballast water exchange system should be such that it
facilitates future compliance of the standards set in Regulation D-2 of the
Convention, minimizing the need to install new equipment/retrofitting and to
carry out dry-docking and/or hot work. It should reduce, as far as possible,
the costs of any adaptation for this purpose. Special consideration should be
given to the feasibility of combining ballast water exchange methods with
ballast water treatment technologies, aiming at meeting, in the future, the
standards of Regulation D-2. Adequate spaces for new complementary equipment
and pipelines, which may be necessary to meet future standards D-2, should also
be considered and planned.
3.3 Where designing new ships ballast water systems
designs should take special account of the need for sampling the ballast water
by port State control or other authorized organizations. The arrangements
should be such that samples as required by the Guidelines for ballast water
sampling (G2) can be taken. The sampling arrangements should enhance the
quality and ease of sampling of ballast water or sediments, without the need to
enter potentially dangerous spaces or partially filled ballast tanks.
3.4 Where ballast water exchange at sea is the
chosen method, when designing new ships the following aspects should be
considered:
.1
design of ship structures to enable ballast water exchange to be conducted at
various sea states/swell conditions and provide to the ship information on the
maximum sea state that ballast water exchange can be conducted;
.2
minimize the burden on ships crew (e.g. minimize the number of operational
steps, the number of partially loaded tanks and the time taken);
.3
minimize the risk of tank over/under pressurization;
.4
minimize the flow of ballast water on deck;
.5
maintaining bridge visibility standards (SOLAS V/22), propeller immersion and
minimum draft forward at any stage of a