US Ballast Water Management Regulations

Product Description

This publication provides a comprehensive overview of US ballast water management regulations, including federal to state level requirements, the development of future US legislation and ballast water exchange and treatment. It provides detailed information on the ballast water management systems (BWMS) that are type-approved by the US Coast Guard (USCG) for ballasting operations in US waters.

The US is not party to the global Ballast Water Management Convention and developed its own ballast water management regulations for vessels, which have been in full effect since January 2016. This guide sets out the current state and federal regulations in force, including up-to-date USCG and EPA requirements. US legislation requires that a BWMS that will operate in US waters must be type approved by the USCG. As of January 2024, 54 BWMS models have received such USCG type approval and this guide summarises the features of these BWMS in a useful data sheet format.

The guide looks in detail at future requirements under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) 2018 and provides helpful operational methods, considerations and checklists for ballast water exchange.

The Appendices contain an updated list of Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs) relating to US ballast water management and systems, alongside VIDA.