HELCOM Guidance to distinguish between unacceptable high risk scenarios and acceptable low risk scenarios – a risk of spreading of alien species by ships on Intra-Baltic voyages

Introduction

The Guidance here in the form of recommendations has been developed to support transparent and consistent risk assessments for regional ship voyages and allow a unified Baltic Sea system on exemptions from applying ballast water management in accordance with Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM Convention) Regulation A-4. The guidance is recommended to be followed by all HELCOM Contracting States, whilst allowing flexibility or stricter actions on national level.

Distances within the Baltic Sea are generally short, in comparison to oceanic shipping voyages, and invasive species on intra-Baltic voyages may have a higher likelihood of survival in ballast water or sediments. Species are also likely to spread within the Baltic Sea to proportionally wide areas on their own, without shipping acting as a vector, unless salinity, temperature or other factors limit their natural range of dispersal. Hence certain special considerations are required.

HELCOM Contracting Parties have agreed that ballast water exchange areas are not a suitable management option within the Baltic Sea. Several reasons contribute to this, mainly lack of suitable areas matching the depth and distance requirements of the Convention Guidelines (G6) for Ballast Water Exchange (IMO MEPC 53/24/Add. 1 document, Annex 2. Resolution MEPC.124(53)), short distances within the Baltic Sea and hence time limitations for exchange practises and the ballast water exchange being only an interim solution. This decision not to exchange ballast water within the Baltic concerns both the ships on intra-Baltic and oceanic voyages. The HELCOM Contracting Parties together with OSPAR Contracting States have agreed on specific Guidance for ballast water exchange by ships engaged in oceanic voyages (see previous page).

Once the BWM Convention enters into force, ships will be required to implement the remaining ballast water management options (ballast water treatment or discharge and disposal of ballast water and sediments to suitable reception facilities) unless an exemption has been granted following a risk assessment to assess whether a ship is on a voyage posing a high or low risk of spreading alien species.

The risk related to voyages between ports within Baltic, not only depend on the environmental conditions in each port but strongly on the species biology and tolerance to variation in the environmental factors. In the Baltic where the non-indigenous and cryptogenic species vary greatly in regards of biology and environmental requirements a species-specific assessment can give the most accurate estimate of the real risk involved on a specific voyage.

Port States according to the Ballast Water Management Convention may undertake the risk assessment themselves in order to grant exemptions, or require the shipowner or operator to undertake the risk assessment. Shipowners or operators wanting to seek an exemption should contact the relevant Parties to ascertain the risk assessment procedures to be undertaken and the information requirements of these procedures.

Where a Party to the Convention has determined that the shipowner or operator should undertake the risk assessment, the Party should provide relevant information, including any application requirements, the risk assessment model to be used, any harmful species to be considered, data standards and any other required information. The shipowner or operator should follow the IMO Guidelines and submit relevant information to the Party. Both the risk assessing, and the evaluation and decision-making processes should use best available expertise.

HELCOM Guidance to distinguish between unacceptable high risk scenarios and acceptable low risk scenarios – a risk of spreading of alien species by ships on Intra-Baltic voyages.