IMO Hosts BWM Convention in Maldives

A regional workshop in Malé, Maldives has trained participants from four countries in compliance monitoring and enforcement of International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention.

Delegated from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka have participated in the workshop, said the UN body.

The event also included training on how to conduct a relevant risk assessment for implementing and enforcing the BWM Convention – with a focus on ship targeting for port State control and exemptions under a key regulation (regulation A-4) of the BWM Convention.

Identifying organisms and microbes in ballast water, as well as monitoring port marine life where ballast water may be released, are key for countries preparing to enforce IMO's Ballast Water Management Convention, it said.

The treaty involves measures to counter the threat to marine ecosystems by potentially invasive species transported in ships' ballast water.

The workshop also included training on how to plan and conduct a port biological baseline survey using standardized protocols.