Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast water in the Adriatic Sea Region. A Collection of Legal Texts
On the 8th of September 2017, the International Convention on the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention - London, 2004) will enter into force. This multilateral treaty sets the global regime for international shipping activities in order to reduce and control the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through ballast ships’ operations between the world’s sea areas. The ballast water uptake and discharge is a routine operation for ships, essential in order to maintain the ship’s stability and to allow for its safe manouvrability. At the same time, ballast water operations are among the major sources of introduction into the marine environment of invasive, alien and harmful species or organisms, and represent a threat for marine biodiversity and ecosystems, for the human health as well as for the smooth development of the uses of the sea (i.e. fisheries, aquaculture, tourism).
The BALMAS project, “Ballast Water Management System for Adriatic Sea Protection”, was funded by the European Union IPA Adriatic Cross-border Cooperation Programme aiming at facilitate the cross-border implementation in the Adriatic Sea region of the global standards (www.balmas.eu). Among the project deliverables, a collection of the relevant legal texts was prepared and published within the ISPRA Technical Documents Series. The book “Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast water in the Adriatic Sea Region. A Collection of Legal Texts” (eds. G. Rak and G. De Vendictis) includes the text of the BWM Convention and of related IMO guidelines (Chapter 2), the relevant Mediterranean policy documents (Chapter 3) and the Adriatic Sea bordering States regulations, in an unofficial English translation (Chapter 4). Considering the relevance of Port State Control for the implementation of the new global rules main relevant legal acts were also included in the book as an addendum (e.g. the 1982 Paris MoU and the Directive No. 2009/16/EC).
The book is updated December 2016.
For further information: giulietta.rak@isprambiente.it
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