The BWM Convention requires ships to have procedures in place for BWM as it aims to prevent the spread of harmful and invasive aquatic species in ships’ ballast water.
Mr Ignasius Jonan, Indonesia’s minister of transportation ratified the convention during the 29th session of the IMO Assembly on 24 November.
Indonesia’s agreement comes after capacity-building projects which were undertaken by the IMO in collaboration with the Norwegian Development Cooperation Agency and the support of the Globallast project.
Morocco’s ratification on November 23 brought the count to 32.93% of the world tonnage, meaning the convention is very close to formal verification.
It will come into force 12 months after the date on which up to 30 IMO member states, which represent a total of 35% of the world’s tonnage, ratify it.
Previous to Indonesia’s approval, 44 countries had already signed up but are still 2.07% off the tonnage quota.
With the convention edging ever closer to ratification, Damen’s manager of Ballast Water Treatment, Gert-Jan Oude Egberink, spoke to GreenPort about the implications it contains for the 60,000 vessels that will be affected and urged those involved to be ready when ratification comes.