Ballast Water Management Convention

Ballast Water Management Convention
BWM Convention

International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments
Signed and ratified   Acceded or succeeded   Not participating
Signed	13 February 2004
Location	London, United Kingdom
Effective	8 September 2017
Condition	Ratifications by at least 30 parties, whose combined merchant fleets' gross tonnage includes at least 35% of the world's
Parties	86 (15 July 2021)[1]
Depositary	UN Secretary-General
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish

Admiralty law
History
Code of Hammurabi Corpus Juris Civilis Digesta Ordinamenta et consuetudo maris Amalfian Laws Hanseatic League
Features
Fishing Illegal Fisheries law Maritime transport Shipping/Ferry Cargo Freight Shipbuilding Merchant marine Cargo ship Passenger ship Mortgage Registration Marine insurance Act of God Cargo Collision General average Seaworthiness Total loss Maritime security Letter of marque Drugs Piracy Pollution Smuggling Wartime prizes
Contract of carriage/Charterparty
Affreightment Agency Barratry Bill of lading Brokerage Chartering Consignment Demurrage Force majeure Invoice Commercial Pro forma Laytime Lien Maritime Manifest Packing list Proof of delivery Salvage Law Terms International Waybill
Parties
Agent Factor Freight forwarder Captain (Master) The captain goes down with the ship Carrier Charterer Freight company Manager Consignee Consignor Principal Owner Seaman Mutiny Stevedore
Judiciaries
Admiralty court Vice admiralty court
International conventions
Hague-Visby Rules Hamburg Rules Rotterdam Rules Maritime Labour Convention International Convention on Salvage United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) International piracy law SOLAS Convention MARPOL Convention Ballast Water Management Convention Anti-fouling Convention International Convention on Load Lines International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea SAR Convention Athens Convention
International organizations
International Maritime Organization Comité Maritime International London Maritime Arbitrators Association
v t e

The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (Ballast Water Management Convention or BWM Convention) is a 2004 international maritime treaty which requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with standards and procedures for the management and control of ships' ballast water and sediments.^[2] The Convention aims to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms from one region to another and halt damage to the marine environment from ballast water discharge, by minimising the uptake and subsequent discharge of sediments and organisms.^[2] From 2024, all ships are required to have approved Ballast Water Management Treatment System, according to the D2 standard (see below). Existing ships are required to install an approved system, which may cost up to US$5 million per ship to install.^[3] To assist with implementation, the IMO has released 14 Guidance documents in regards to the Convention including the G2 Guidelines for Ballast Water Sampling, G4 Guidelines for Ballast Water management and G6 Guidelines for Ballast Water Exchange.^[4] As of 15 July 2021, 86 countries were contracting States to the BWM Convention (representing 91.12% of the gross tonnage of the global merchant fleet).^[1]