Record keeping is a vital part of complying with the ‘International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004’ (BWM Convention), and an area that is often scrutinised during Port State Control (PSC) inspections. Experience gained since the adoption of the convention in 2017 has shown that approximately 70% of PSC deficiencies relating to the BWM Convention, have been caused by incorrect or inadequate record keeping.
Identifying this, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has substantially modified the existing Appendix II of the BWM Convention, providing a new format for the Ballast Water Record Book (BWRB). The full amendment can be found in Resolution MEPC.369(80). This new format must be used from 1 February 2025. This expanded set of required entries provides greater detail for standard operations, whilst also adding new sections for when failures occur to a ballast water management system, or to accurately record ballast tank cleaning/removal of sediments. We encourage the review of circular BWM.2/Circ.80/Rev.1 as this contains comprehensive guidance on ballast water record keeping, and a substantial set of sample entries for the BWRB when considering various scenarios. This recent revision also now includes example entries for when Challenging Water Quality (CWQ) conditions are encountered.
Full advisory at the following link.