Jan. 30 2025 Home Class & statutory Upcoming Changes to Ballast Water Record-Keeping Requirements – Entry into force on 1 February 2025 LinkedIn Twitter Facebook share Convention BWM Ballast Water Management Flag ALL FLAGS Ship typeAll Sea going Ship types Entry into force of the amendments to Appendix II of the Annex to the BWM Convention on the format of the Ballast Water Record Book (BWRB) Summary:From 1 February 2025, the format of the Ballast Water Record Book (BWRB) is to be updated. The upcoming amendments introduce significant updates aimed at ensuring standardized and efficient record-keeping, with standardized operation codes from A to H to categorize various ballast water activities. Comprehensive guidance on completing BWRB entries has also been approved, including examples of scenarios involving challenging water quality. To meet the new requirements, shipowners must adopt specific measures and , from 1 February 2025, all ships subject to the BWM Convention must implement the revised BWRB format, ensuring adherence to the new structure and operation codes.Background:In 2017, IMO established an experience-building phase (EBP) associated with the BWM Convention, in order to carry out a systematic and evidence-based review of the BWM Convention, potentially leading to review of the Convention and development of a package of amendments. One of the first output is that BWRB entries were found to be an issue faced by PSC, and IMO recognized that the current form did not provide sufficient clarity, and this had an impact on the operation of ships.Extract of document MEPC 78/4/1Consequently, at MEPC 80, IMO adopted the following amendments related to ballast water record-keeping.New Format of Ballast Water Record Book (BWRB) (resolution MEPC.369(80))IMO adopted amendments to appendix II of the Annex to the BWM Convention in relation to the Form of Ballast Water Record Book (resolution MEPC.369(80)). This comes into force on 1 February 2025.This revised Form of BWRB proposes the list of items to be recorded in "Code" (letter A to H) and "Item" (number) format and additional details that must be recorded for different ballast water operations, similarly to the Oil record book.Note: Records must be retained onboard for two years and under the company control for an additional three years. To ensure compliance during inspections, BWRBs (old and revised) must be properly maintained and readily available for review without causing delays. (BWMC reg. B.2.2).Guidance on ballast water record-keeping and reporting (circular BWM.2/Circ.80/Rev.1)IMO approved the Guidance on Ballast Water Record-Keeping and Reporting (BWM.2/Circ.80) to provide detailed instructions on when and how to record ballast water operations in the BWRB. The guidance includes standardized format, examples and instructions for chronologically recording each ballast water operation, as well as requirements for storing the records.In addition, it includes an updated example of ballast water reporting form (BWMRF) which may be submitted before reaching a port, as well as an example form for voluntary tank-by-tank logging of ballast water operations.Note: MEPC 82 approved the 2024 Guidance on Ballast Water Record-Keeping and Reporting (BWM.2/Circ.80/Rev.1), which revokes BWM.2/Circ.80. This updated guidance provides instructions for documenting operational scenarios involving challenging water quality (CWQ) in the Ballast Water Record Book (BWRB), aligning with the Interim Gu