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,
- ADOPTS the Guidelines for ballast water exchange design and construction standards (G11);
- INVITES Governments to apply the Guidelines as soon as possible, or when the Convention becomes applicable to them; and
- AGREES to keep the Guidelines under review.