206(62) Procedure for approving other methods of BWM

Procedure for approving other methods of ballast water management in accordance with regulation B-3.7 of the BWM convention

		dd-mm-yyyy = Entry into force
Document	MEPC/Res.206(62)	01-07-2011

206(62) Procedure for approving other methods of BWM

Procedure for approving other methods of ballast water management in accordance with regulation B-3.7 of the BWM convention

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 international conventions for the prevention and control of marine pollution,

RECALLING ALSO the adoption by the International Conference on Ballast Water Management for Ships, held at the Organization's Headquarters in 2004, of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (hereinafter "the BWM Convention"),

RECALLING FURTHER that regulation A-2 of the BWM Convention requires that discharge of ballast water shell only be conducted through ballast water management in accordance with the provisions of the Annex to the Convention,

NOTING that regulation B-3.7 of the BWM Convention permits the use of "Other Methods" of ballast water management to achieve at least the same level of protection to the environment, human health, property or resources as described in regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5,

RECOGNIZING that such "Other Methods" should take into account safety considerations relating to the ship and the crew, environmental acceptability, practicality, cost-effectiveness, economics and biological effectiveness and should be approved in principle by the Marine Environment Protection Committee,

HAVING CONSIDERED, at its sixty-second session, the draft Procedure for approving Other Methods of ballast water management in accordance with regulation B-3.7 of the BWM Convention, developed by the Sub-Committee on Bulk Liquids and Gases at its fifteenth session,

1. ADOPTS the Procedure for approving Other Methods of ballast water management in accordance with regulation B-3.7 of the BWM Convention, as set out in the annex to the present resolution;
   
   
2. INVITES Administrations to apply the annexed Procedure as soon as possible, or when the Convention becomes applicable to them;
   
   
3. URGES Member States to bring the annexed Procedure to the attention of shipowners, shipbuilders and manufacturers of ballast water management systems, as well as any other parties concerned; and
   
   
4. AGREES to keep the Procedure under review.

1 Introduction

1 - Introduction

1.1 Regulation B-3.7 of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the BWM Convention) permits the use of Other Methods of ballast water management to achieve at least the same level of protection to the environment, human health, property or resources as described in regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5, and approved in principle by the MEPC.

1.2 Those developing Other Methods should also take into account: safety considerations relating to the ship and the crew; environmental acceptability (i.e. not causing greater environmental impacts than they solve); practicality (i.e. compatibility with ship design and operations); cost-effectiveness and economics; and biological effectiveness.

1.3 The Procedure for approving Other Methods of ballast water management in accordance with regulation B-3.7 of the BWM Convention (hereafter referred to as "the Procedure"), aims at providing criteria for the evaluation and approval of Other Methods of ballast water management (hereafter referred to as "Other Methods").

1.4 This Procedure has been developed to ensure that these Other Methods provide at least the same level of protection to the environment, human health, property or resources as those methods permitted under regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5.

1.5 Other Methods of ballast water management are to be approved in principle by the Committee prior to approval of an Other Method by the Administration.

1.6 Systems based on an Other Method where Active Substances and Preparations are added to the ballast water, or are generated on board ships by the system, should also be subject to the approval by the Committee in accordance with the Procedure for approval of ballast water management systems that make use of Active Substances (G9).

1.7 All shipboard systems based on an Other Method will also have to gain Type Approval or Prototype Approval, as appropriate, under the Guidelines for approvl of ballast water management systems (G8), or Guidelines for approval of prototype ballast water treatment technologies (G10).

1.8 Where an Other Method cannot be type approved due to the nature of the method, the Administration should recommend to the Committee an appropriate method of recognition or certification.

1.9 The environmental impacts of any chemical by-products and/or physical effects formed by an Other Method will also have to be evaluated by the Administration during the approval process, with respect to safety to the environment.

1.10 The Procedure identifies the information to be provided, identifies the responsible parties for providing such information and outlines the approval processes required by the Committee.

1.11 The use of Other Methods of ballast water management should be consistent with the objectives of the Convention – "to prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the risks to the environment, human health, property and resources arising from the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through the control and management of ships' ballast water and sediments, as well as to avoid unwanted side effects from that control, and to encourage developments in related knowledge and technology". Depending on the new technology used in the Other Method, verifications for approval could be different from those specified in paragraph 1.7 but keep the same level of protection.

1.12 Other Methods using organisms are not within the scope of this Procedure.

10 Modification

10 - Modification

10.1 The holder of an Other Method approval should report any modifications to the Administration.

10.2 Any modifications to an approved Other Method should be re-evaluated in accordance with this Procedure.

11 Withdrawal of approval

11 - Withdrawal of approval

11.1 The Committee may withdraw any approval in principle in the following circumstances:

1. if the Other Method or system based on an Other Method no longer conforms to requirements due to amendments of the BWM Convention;
   
   
2. if any data or test records differ materially from data relied upon at the time of approval and are deemed not to satisfy the approval criteria;
   
   
3. if a request for withdrawal of approval is made by the Administration on behalf of the holder of an Other Method approval; and
   
   
4. if unreasonable harm to environment, human health, property or resources is determined to have been caused by an approved Other Method.

 

11.2 The decision to withdraw an approval in principle should specify all necessary
further details, including the date upon which the withdrawal takes effect.

12 Use on ships

12 - Use on ships

12.1 Ships using an Other Method under regulation B-3.7 of the BWM Convention, to meet their obligations under this Convention, can only do so once the Other Method has been approved in principle by the Committee and has been approved by an Administration.

2 Purpose

2 - Purpose

2.1 The Procedure aims to ensure that any Other Methods approved provide an equivalent level of protection to the standards contained in the BWM Convention. The Procedure will be kept under review and updated by the Committee in light of the experience gained during its application and as the state of knowledge and technology may require.

2.2 The purpose of the Procedure is to:

1. provide a uniform interpretation and application of the requirements for the approval of Other Methods permitted under regulation B-3.7;
   
   
2. ensure that Other Methods approved by an Administration are capable of at least achieving equivalence to the level of protection provided by the standards of the BWM Convention with respect to the prevention of the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens as required by regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5;
   
   
3. assist in determining the information necessary for the approval in principle of Other Methods under regulation B-3.7 of the BWM Convention and identify the roles and responsibilities in providing such information;
   
   
4. assist Administrations in conducting the approval of an Other Method;
   
   
5. provide guidance to manufacturers, shipowners and other interested parties involved in determining the suitability of an Other Method to meet the requirements of the BWM Convention; and
   
   
6. provide the approval process used by the Committee.

3 Definitions

3 - Definitions

3.1 For the purposes of this Procedure, the definitions in the Convention apply and:

1. Method means a process developed and designed to reduce the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms through ships' ballast water to meet the requirements specified under regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5 of the BWM Convention.
   
   
2. Other Method means an alternative to a Method defined in paragraph 3.1.1 above, which provides a level of protection equivalent to the requirements specified in regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5 of the BWM Convention.

4 Applicability

4 - Applicability

4.1 The Procedure applies to all Administrations, Parties to the BWM Convention and other IMO Member States, seeking approval in principle for an Other Method under regulation B-3.7 or assessing or granting approval for such Other Methods. This Procedure is also for the use of the Committee when considering approval in principle.

4.2 Equipment manufacturers wanting to seek approval for an Other Method should also consult this Procedure.

4.3 Ballast water management methods subject to regulation A-4.1 of the BWM Convention are not subject to this procedure or to regulation B-3.7.

5 Application to the committee

5 - Application to the committee for approval in principle of an other method

5.1 The information provided to support the application for approval in principle should be complete, of sufficient quality and in accordance with this Procedure.

5.2 The applicant for approval in principle of an Other Method should provide independently validated and/or operational proof that the Other Method being submitted:

1. provides a level of protection at least equivalent to that provided by the requirements specified in regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5 of the BWM Convention; and
   
   
2. is capable of providing a consistent level of protection at all times in all environments/locations.

Equivalence and benchmark criteria for an application for approval in principle of an Other Method

5.3 Applications for Other Methods should contain a fully developed independently validated approach for assessing the level of protection provided by that Other Method against the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens and its equivalence to the requirements in regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5 of the BWM Convention and the additional requirements outlined in this Procedure, as appropriate. A possible starting point for such an approach could be a comparison of the level of protection ensured by ballast water management in compliance with regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5 and the level of protection ensured by the Other Method if used on comparable ships.

5.4 Other Methods should demonstrate by risk assessment, independently validated physical and biological modelling, operational testing of this modelling and full-scale operational testing, where applicable, that the Other Method is capable of meeting at all times a level of protection that is at least equivalent to the level of protection with respect to the prevention of the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens via discharge of ballast water compared to existing requirements. The risk assessment should be at least to the same level of rigour as stipulated in Guidelines (G7).

5.5 Applications for Other Methods should specify the benchmark against which the performance of any systems based on that particular Other Method can be measured. The benchmark would:

1. enable a transparent comparison by the Committee of the level of protection provided by the Other Method with that provided by the requirements in regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5 of the BWM Convention;
   
   
2. be measurable and able to be evaluated for approval (similar to the requirements of the Convention, i.e. D-1 being a process evaluation, while D-2 is a measurable performance standard);
   
   
3. be verifiable by port and flag States through sampling, records or other processes (to be properly defined, listed and technically explained/clarified, in the pertinent application, in terms of proposed verifications for flag State or port State control inspections to be carried out on board);
   
   
4. need to be contained in the application, agreed by the Committee and then be used for consideration of approval through compliance testing by Port State Control;
   
   
5. provide an assurance that systems based on an Other Method are providing the same level of protection for the environment as the Other Method that has received the approval in principle from the Committee; and
   
   
6. be based on a recognized international standard, where appropriate, so long as they can be proved as equivalent to the existing requirements.

 

5.6 An Other Method may provide the same level of protection for the environment, human health, property or resources where:

1. the ballasting and de-ballasting process does not transfer harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens; or
   
   
2. the ballast water discharge contains no harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens.

 

Sampling protocol criteria for an application for approval in principle of an Other Method

5.7 The application for an Other Method should contain a ballast water sampling and analysis protocol that should be consistent with the Guidelines for ballast water sampling (G2). Ship and personnel safety criteria for an application for approval in principle of an Other Method

5.8 The application should include a Formal Safety Assessment or a Safety Case to ensure that the Other Method or system based on an Other Method is safe for installation on board ship and any risks to the ship's crew resulting from the system are identified and adequately addressed. This Formal Safety Assessment or Safety Case should be consistent with part 3 of the annex to the Guidelines for approval of ballast water management systems (G8) and approved by the Administration.

6 Submission process

6 - Submission process

6.1 The applicant should evaluate the Other Method against the benchmark according to a protocol that is approved by an Administration.

6.2 The applicant should then prepare an application for the Other Method and submit it to the Member State concerned.

6.3 The Administration should review the application to ensure it is satisfactory (i.e. contains all of the information that is required and the information provided is of a sufficient standard to enable a decision to be made by the Committee). If the application is satisfactory, the Member State should submit a proposal for approval in principle to the Committee taking into account the deadlines prior to the MEPC at which approval in principle is to be sought.

6.4 When in session, the Committee should decide if the proposal is acceptable for consideration by the Committee and set the time frame for the evaluation of the proposal as follows:

1. the Committee may commission an independent review of the risk assessment method, data and assumptions in order to ensure that a scientifically rigorous analysis has been conducted. The review should be undertaken by independent experts with ecological, aquatic biology, ship design and operation, and risk assessment expertise; and
   
   
2. the reviewers' report should be in written form and circulated to the Parties, Members of the Organization, the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies, intergovernmental organizations having agreements with the Organization and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Organization, prior to its consideration by the Committee.

 

6.5 All proprietary data should be treated as confidential by the Committee, the competent authorities involved, and the independent reviewers, if any. However, all information related to safety and environmental protection, including physical/chemical properties and data on environmental fate and toxicity, should be treated as non-confidential.

6.6 The Committee should evaluate the application for approval in principle of an Other Method in accordance with this Procedure.

7 Assessment of equivalence

7 -Assessment of equivalence

7.1 The Committee should review the benchmarks detailed in the application and, as appropriate, take them into account when assessing equivalence to the level of protection for the environment, human health, property or resources as provided for in regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5.

7.2 Other Methods designed to provide at least an equivalent level of protection with respect to the prevention of the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens via discharge of ballast water should demonstrate by risk assessment, independently validated physical and biological modelling, operational testing of this modelling and full-scale operational testing, where applicable, that the Other Method is capable of meeting a level of protection at all times that is, at least equivalent to, or better than, the applicable requirements contained in the BWM Convention.

7.3 Risk assessment is the logical process for assigning the likelihood and consequences of specific events, such as entry, establishment or spread of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in situations where a direct comparison of application benchmarks with the D-1 and D-2 standards is not possible.

7.4 In undertaking risk assessment to consider and evaluate the equivalence of an Other Method with the existing standards, the risk assessment principles outlined in the Guidelines for risk assessment under regulation A-4 of the BWM Convention (G7) should be carefully applied. The lack of full scientific certainty should be carefully considered in the decision-making process.
Equivalence with the D-1 standard

7.5 Other Methods designed to provide equivalence to the D-1 standard can be used only until the ship type, under the BWM Convention, is required to comply with the D-2 standard (unless the system proves it can also provide equivalence to the D-2 standard):

1. these methods should demonstrate through risk assessment, independently validated physical and biological modelling, operational testing of this modelling and full-scale operational testing of systems based on Other Methods, wh ere applicable, that the Other Method is capable of meeting at all times a level of protection that is, at least equivalent to, or better than, regulation D-1 of the BWM Convention;
   
   
2. if there is a question about the environmental impact of an Other Method during its development, such approval should be split in the same way as it is in Procedure (G9). That is, Other Methods should be approved by the Administration and Committee based on independently validated data prior to being tested at sea; and
   
   
3. the relevant water quality parameters (e.g., suspended solids, salinity, oxygen concentration, particulate organic matter) should be reasonably the same in the incoming as well as in the outflowing water.

Equivalence with the D-2 standard

 

7.6 Other Methods designed to provide equivalence to the D-2 standard should demonstrate through risk assessment, independently validated physical and biological modelling, operational testing of this modelling and full-scale operational testing of systems based on Other Methods, where applicable, that the Other Method is capable of meeting at all times a level of protection that is at least equivalent to, or better than, regulation D-2 of the BWM Convention, as follows:

1. where appropriate, benchmarks should be based on recognized international standards as long as they can be proven to provide an equivalent level of protection to the D-2 standard;
   
   
2. the description of the main characteristics of the ballast water as well as the absence/presence of harmful aquatic organisms is to be supported by independent verification; and
   
   
3. onboard test results, equipment specification and quality assurance should be available.

8 Aproval

8 - Aproval

8.1 The approval takes place in two steps:

1. an approval in principle of the Other Method following review and evaluation by the Committee (regulation B-3.7); and
   
   
2. an approval of the Other Method in a manner analogous to Guidelines (G8) and (G10), by the Administration.

Assessment for approval in principle

8.2 The application for approval in principle should be assessed by the Committee to ascertain whether:

1. the application for approval in principle is complete, of sufficient quality, and in accordance with this Procedure;
   
   
2. the Other Method does not cause any unacceptable adverse effects to environment, human health, property or resources;
   
   
3. the Other Method does not contravene other regulations in the BWM Convention, or any other convention or code applicable to the ship type;
   
   
4. the Other Method ensures at least the same level of protection to the environment, human health, property or resources as those methods permitted under regulations B-3.1 to B-3.5; and
   
   
5. the Procedure for approval set out by the Administration is appropriate.

 

8.3 The application should not be granted approval in principle when there is absence of information or significant uncertainty.

8.4 The Committee should decide whether to approve in principle the proposal, introduce any modifications thereto, if appropriate, taking into account the reviewers' report.

8.5 The Administration that submitted the application to the Committee should inform in writing the applicant about the decision made with regard to the Other Method.

Approval by the Administration

8.6 An Other Method, having received approval in principle from the Committee, is to be approved by an Administration.

8.7 A shipboard system may need to be assessed for Type Approval.

8.8 The Administration should evaluate an Other Method for safety to the environment, human health, property, or resources.

9 Notification of approval

9 - Notification of approval

9.1 The Committee will record the approval in principle of Other Methods and circulate the list once a year including the following information:

• the document reference of the approval in principle of the Other Method by the Committee;
  
  
• name and brief description of the Other Method;
  
  
• name of ballast water management system that makes use of the Other Method if appropriate;
  
  
• date of approval;
  
  
• name of applicant;
  
  
• the benchmark that the Other Method is designed to meet, and the methods of assessing compliance to this benchmark;
  
  
• copies of or access routes to test reports, test methods, etc. (as resolution MEPC.175(58)); and
  
  
• any other specifications, if necessary.

 

9.2 Administrations, when approving an Other Method should report to the Committee in a manner consistent with resolution MEPC.175(58) "Information reporting on Type Approved ballast water management systems".

• Informatietype: Internationaal
• Documentsoort: Resolutie
• Toegangsrechten: Extern
• Identificatie: PUC_1558_14
• Versie: 1
• Datum beschikbaarheid: 19-04-2012
• Geldigheid van: 01-07-2011
• Wijzigingsdatum: 24-11-2016
• Titel: 206(62) Procedure for approving other methods of BWM
• Organisatie: International Maritime Organization (IMO)
• Taal: Nederlands
• Thema: MEPC/Res. 200 until 299