US Coast Guard has produced a report "Ballast Water Management for the Control of Aquatic Nuisance Species in the Waters of the US". It is available from IMO as "Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular No. 07-04, CH-1". The report is in pdf-format, 80 pages, 1.44 MB. If your computer doesn't support the Acrobat/pdf reader you can download Adobe Reader 8.0 for free (128 MB).

US Coast Guard Mandatory Ballast Water Management Program for US waters, overview of rules and recommendations.

According to an US Government Accountability Office Report, ballast water exchange still remains the only practical method of avoiding transporting invasive species from one world region to an other (2005).

Report ( CRS ) to US Congress: "Ballast Water Management to Combat Invasive Species" (3/2005), PDF format.

The state of California (USA) new Ballast Water regulations were enforced starting March 22, 2006. The new regulations apply to vessels arriving in California carrying ballast water from another port or place in Pacific Coast Region and are in addition to those concerning ports or places outside the region.

A federal district judge in California has in September (2006) ruled that in 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must begin regulating contaminated ballast water discharges from cargo ships under the US Clean Water Act (from 1972).

Because of the Californian judge's decision the EPA is in the process of developing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits under the Clean Water Act for the discharge of pollutants incidental to the normal operations of vessels. This can potentially implicate all vessels, both commercial and recreational, that have discharge incidental to their normal operation, such as: deck runoff, gray water, etc. ( Source: Federal Register, June 21, 2007 ).

ABS ( American Bureau of Shipping ) has made their own Ballast Water Convention regulatory information.

The Ballast Water Regulations for the Great Lakes Seaway System are said to be the most stringent in the world. All ships arriving from beyond the exclusive economic zone are required to exchange their ballast at sea. The article includes further links to ballast water regulations in North America.

Michigan has got a new ballast water control law, which went into effect on Jan. 01, 2007 ( St. Lawrence Seaway ). Under the new law, oceangoing ships must obtain a Ballast Water Control General Permit in order to use Michigan ports in the Great Lakes.

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Canadian Shipping Act (2006) [SOR/2006-129]: Ballast Water Control and Management Regulations apply to every ship in waters under Canadian jurisdiction ( including Great Lakes ) with a few specific exceptions.

Incoming foreign ships may exchange ballast water in the Laurentian Channel, when due to safety reasons it was not possible to do the exchange at open sea. Get chart of St. Lawrence channel with restricted areas marked.

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Brazilian Navy has issued a new regulation regarding deballasting. This has already been sent to IMO and signatory countries. The new rules ( Norman-20 ) demands that any vessel bound to Brazilian ports have a managing plan of ballast water ( PGAL ). This requirement has been in force from June 30th, 2006.

The ballast water management plans should comply with IMO's "Draft Guidelines for ballast water management and the development of ballast water management plans ( G4 )" (Feb. 2005), with a standard format for a ballast water management plan. The document is in PDF format.

Additional updates from The O'Brien's Group. For Brazil see 1^st & 2^nd Quarter 2006 Newsletter. You can subscribe to this newsletter for free from: oopsusa"at"oopsusa.com (instead of "at" you type @ ).

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One big problem with ratification and implementation of the ballast convention is that in many countries the maritime sector is regulated by one authority, while the environment is overseen by another authority. These can often be both budgetary and otherwise in competition with each other.

Links to Ballast Water Management and Invasive Species Control information websites are on Maritime Safety and Security Links page.

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For information on Ballast Water Convention and pleasure craft including sailing yachts go to Seafarer's Links.