New guide helps ships to reduce alien species via ballast water in the Baltic Sea

15 April 2014

HELCOM has released today a Guide to Alien Species and Ballast Water Management in the Baltic Sea, to mitigate the harmful impact of alien species and to inform stakeholders, i.a. mariners entering in the area. The new Guide provides an overview of the global and regional implementation measures applicable in the Baltic Sea.

The enclosed form, low salinity and relatively lively maritime traffic make the Baltic Sea prone to entrance and settlement of non-native species transmitted through ships ballast water. Shipping connects the region to a multitude of destinations all around the world and can thus not be addressed by Baltic Sea countries alone.

This global threat to the Baltic Sea is addressed by the 2004 International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The BWM Convention aims to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms from one region to another, by establishing standards and procedures for the management and control of ships' ballast water and sediments.

Since the adoption of the BWM Convention the Baltic Sea coastal countries have cooperated within HELCOM Maritime Group in order to ensure an efficient and harmonised implementation of the Convention measures in the Baltic Sea area.

Regional measures developed within HELCOM include recommendations regarding ballast water exchange, definitions of target species as well as delineating procedures for granting of exemptions to ballast water management based on risk assessments (A-4). The geographical coverage of such measures is, in certain cases, supra-regional such as the three set of voluntary guidelines on ballast water exchange agreed together with the OSPAR Commission and the Barcelona Convention, and the

“Joint HELCOM/OSPAR Guidelines on the granting of exemptions under the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, Regulation A-4”.

The Guide has been drafted by the HELCOM project ALIENS 3, coordinated by the HELCOM Secretariat, with input from the experts from HELCOM member states.

Download: Guide to Alien Species and Ballast Water Management in the Baltic Sea