Ballast Water Convention not yet in force

47 states so far have ratified the Ballast Water Convention. The necessary quorum of 30 signatory states has therefore been reached, however the second criterion for coming into force of the convention, namely 35% of the world gross tonnage, has just been missed – by exactly 0.04%!

The International Maritime Organization IMO has now invited the pending flag states to join the convention. Germany has already ratified the Ballast Water Convention on 13. February 2013. Experts expect the convention to enter into force soon.

More information on the topic ballast water can be found in our rubric “Environmental Protection”.