Regulations on Ballast Water & Invasive Species - a Comparative Approach

Abstract: Harmful aquatic species are today invading foreign habitats at an unprecedented pace. They have had a large negative impact on many fragile ecosystems of the world and ballast water has been identified as one the major culprits behind their fast spread. Today, the most common remedy used to combat the problem is exchanging ballast water in the open ocean to get rid of any organisms with the potential to survive in the coastal areas of ports. This method is now proving to be much less efficient than what was first thought and scientists are forced to find new solutions. The new solution is the installment of onboard ballast water treatment systems and most of the regulations on ballast water seem to be moving in the same direction by establishing performance standards for such systems, which dictate the amounts of viable organisms allowed in ballast water discharges. The contents of most regulations on ballast water have shown to be very similar. The general requirement is that vessels exchange their ballast water at least 200 nautical miles from shore before entering into the exclusive economic zones of states. Alternatively, discharges may be but only if accepted onboard treatment systems have been used or if discharges can be made to land-based reception facilities. Discharging untreated ballast water can only be accepted in emergency situations when the vessel, its crew or passengers are threatened. Internationally, there are several legally binding regulations which concern invasive species such as the Convention on biological diversity, but up until today any ballast water regulations have been voluntary. The tables are about to turn since the International maritime organization has developed its Ballast water convention. However, the convention requires the signing of 30 states, representing at least 35 % of the gross tonnage of the world's shipping to enter into force and there is no saying when it finally will become ratified. In the mean time, multinational and national measures have been taken to reduce introductions. In the United States, President Clinton's executive order has been important in setting the target for regulations on invasive species. Mandated by important federal legislations such as the National invasive species act, legally binding provisions which are enforced by the U.S. coast guard are in place and several individual states have established regulations on their own. Europe has several directives affecting ballast water management such as the Marine strategy framework directive, the Biocides directive and the Habitats directive but to date there is no directive specifically targeting ballast water. EU member states are recommended to sign the Ballast water management convention and in the meantime, regional cooperations with voluntary guidelines have been and are currently being developed.