January 2020

Commissioning Test of BWMS for Cyprus flagged ships

08 January, 2020

The BWM Convention (International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004), formally adopted in 2004, is the international measure to prevent and minimize the risk of the spread of harmful and invasive aquatic species transferred from ships ballast water. It entered into force on 8 September 2017.

MEPC 74 (May, 2019) approved the draft amendments to regulation E-1.1 and E-1.5 of the BWM Convention which requires the installed ballast water management system (BWMS) to complete a commissioning test during the initial or additional ballast water management survey. The purpose is to verify that the mechanical, physical, chemical and biological processes of the installed BWMS are working properly, taking into account guidelines developed by the IMO.

In this regard, the Cyprus administration has recently issued a Circular No.20/2019 stipulating that the commissioning test must be carried out for a BWMS installed on board any Cyprus flagged ships on or after 1st Jan. 2020.

This information is available here as an attachment, and we ask ship owners with Cyprus flagged ships, builders, test facilities for ballast water and all related stakeholders to pay full attention and to implement this instruction accordingly

Attachment

KR Webzine Vol.143