Ballast Water Management

The Ballast Water Management Convention outlines the requirements for the management and treatment of ballast water in ships.

Almost all cargo vessels use ballast water as part of their routine operations. However, ballast water can carry invasive species—small marine animals and other organisms—picked up from the waters where it is taken onboard. When this water is later discharged in a different ecosystem, the introduced species can threaten the local marine environment.

To mitigate this risk, the International Maritime Organization (IMO, adopted the Ballast Water Management Convention in 2004. The convention mandates that ships treat their ballast water before releasing it into the sea, ensuring that harmful organisms are removed or neutralized. This regulation came into force on September 8, 2017, with full implementation required by September 8, 2024.

For more details on the technical and political challenges surrounding ballast water treatment, please refer to Danish Shipping's Policy Paper on Ballast Water Management