BWM Convention Still Shy of Tonnage Required to Be Brought into Force

The IMO's Secretary-General Kitack Lim is urging countries that have not done so to ratify the BWM Convention "as soon as possible."

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Friday announced that the criteria for the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention to enter into force has still not been met.

As Ship & Bunker previously reported, it was thought that Indonesia's November 2015 ratification of the BWM Convention would be enough for it to enter into force - with potentially important implications for tanker markets in particular.

While the tonnage verification process is still not expected to be fully complete for up to another three weeks, IMO now says that it can confirm that the combined fleets of the 47 countries that have now ratified the convention account for 34.56 percent of global tonnage at most, still short of the 35 percent required for entry into force.

"The recent ratifications have brought the BWM Convention so very close to entry into force, said IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim.

"While we cannot predict exactly when that will happen, I would urge countries that have not done so to ratify the BWM Convention as soon as possible so that we can establish a certain date for entry into force, and also so that it is widely accepted when it does. 

"In particular, those countries with large merchant fleets that have not done so, are requested to accelerate their processes to ratify the Convention."

The IMO says that amendments to the convention, which can be implemented after it enters into force, will be discussed at the next meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee in April.

In October, Ship & Bunker reported that already buoyant tanker rates could get a further boost as tonnage is taken out of service for special surveys or dry docking ahead of the convention's implementation, and older tonnage is taken out of service as the estimated $1‐3 million ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) installation costs may make little sense based on the vessel's remaining useful life.