A guide to canada's ballast water control and - Transports Canada

A GUIDE TO CANADA’S BALLAST WATER CONTROL AND TP 13617E
MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS 1 of 46
PREFACE
The purpose of this guide is to provide information on the application of the Ballast Water Control
and Management Regulations (the Regulations) made pursuant to the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. The
purpose of the Regulations is to protect waters under Canadian jurisdiction from non-indigenous
aquatic organisms and pathogens that can be harmful to ecosystems. When a new organism is
introduced to an ecosystem, negative and irreversible changes may result including a change in
biodiversity. Ballast water may have been associated with the unintentional introduction of a number
of organisms into Canadian waters; several of which may have been extremely harmful to both the
ecosystem and the economic well being of the nation. The Ballast Water Control and Management
Regulations are intended to minimize the probability of future introductions of harmful aquatic
organisms and pathogens from vessels’ ballast water while protecting the safety of vessels. This guide
is to be used as a companion document to the Regulations and should not be seen as adding to or
detracting from existing statutory or regulatory requirements that will prevail in the case of conflict
with this guide.
Voluntary provisions for ballast water exchange were first introduced in Canada in 1989 for vessels
traveling to the Great Lakes. Since that time, a number of significant developments have been made,
including the following:
• in 1991 ballast exchange guidelines were introduced by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) – these were revised in 1997 as resolution A.868(20), Guidelines for the
Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water to Minimize the Transfer of Harmful Aquatic
Organisms and Pathogens;
• in 1993 the US Coast Guard introduced mandatory regulations that required ballast exchange
for vessels traveling to the Great Lakes – these were amended in 2004 to make reporting
mandatory for all US waters and again in 2005 to make ballast water management mandatory
in all US waters;
• in 2000 the application of the Canadian guidelines was expanded to cover all waters under
Canadian jurisdiction and they were renamed to the Guidelines for the Control of Ballast Water
Discharge from Ships in Waters under Canadian Jurisdiction, TP 13617;
• in 2002 the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., under agreement with the St. Lawrence
Seaway Development Corp., amended their joint Practices and Procedures, to make compliance
with best management practices a mandatory prerequisite for transit of the Seaway system; and
• in 2004 the IMO finalized the International Convention for the Control and Management of
Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 – this new Convention introduced a performance
standard for ballast water treatment and calls for the eventual phasing out of ballast water
exchange, but is not yet in force.
The new Ballast Water Control and Management Regulations are harmonized to the maximum extent
possible with current U.S. and international provisions, including the International Convention for the
Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004.