Between 2019-2024, an estimated 40,000 ships will have to install new ballast water treatment systems to continue trading, at a total estimated cost to the industry of up to $80 billion. This follows the implementation of the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention in September 2019, after its global entry into force two years prior.
现有船舶(2017年9月8日之前建造的)现在必须在2019年9月8日或之后的第一次国际油污预防(IOPP)换证检验中安装新的处理系统. This followed a decision at the request of ICS and the industry to adjust the Convention’s implementation dates.

Averting invasive marine organisms
The purpose of the BWM Convention is to address the problem of invasive marine organisms which, if inadvertently transported in ships’ ballast water tanks, can damage local ecosystems. The industry has long supported the objectives of the Convention, having implemented voluntary measures since the 1990s. Nevertheless, BWM公约已被证明是国际海事组织制定的最复杂和最具争议的技术法规之一. It was adopted under huge political pressure back in 2004, 当时，船舶处理数百万加仑压载水所需的技术在实验室之外根本不存在. As a consequence, the enormous challenges of installing completely unproven systems were dramatically underestimated, first by the equipment manufacturers and then by IMO Member States.
Apart from the economic cost (typically US$1-5 million per ship), 满足《大发黄金版网页版登录》的要求给船舶大发黄金版网页版登录带来了严峻的挑战，因为如此多的船舶预计缺乏改装新处理系统所需的造船厂和制造能力. 如果船舶接近其典型的25年使用寿命，那么关于改造的决定就更加困难了. Many shipowners need to make important financial choices about whether or not to install the new equipment or, because of the potentially prohibitive cost, send older ships for early recycling.

A victory for common sense
MEPC关于实施日期的决定是常识的胜利，并有望为航运公司提供必要的时间来识别和投资更强大的技术，以造福环境, 因为他们现在可以根据国际海事组织2016年通过的更严格的标准为现有船舶选择已通过型式认证的设备.
因此，业界应该有更大的信心，该系统将确实适用于大多数操作条件, 这与海事管理部门最初使用国际海事组织原始准则批准的一些情况不同吗, and then installed by ‘early movers’ before the Convention requirements took effect.

Campaign for more robust standards
国际海事组织决定将现有船舶的实施推迟到2019年9月之后的主要原因是，复杂的新处理系统所采用的型式认可标准无法确保设备实际符合公约的处理标准，并为全球所有港口国监督当局所接受.
In 2016, following a major industry campaign led by ICS over several years, the IMO MEPC adopted revised and more robust type-approval standards. 这些现已纳入新的强制性压载水管理系统批准规则，该规则最终于2018年通过.
IMO has recommended that administrations should apply these revised standards as soon as possible. However, they only became mandatory for new system approvals in October 2018, 只有在2020年10月之后安装的系统才需要根据新的IMO规则获得批准. 因此，大发黄金版网页版登录强烈建议航运公司向制造商施加压力，只考虑按照经修订的海事组织型式核准标准核证的处理系统的安装.
国际海事组织压载水制度还有许多其他重大变化，国际航运公司近年来不得不说服各国政府同意这些变化，以便为《大发黄金版网页版登录》的实施做好准备. 除了克服来自设备制造商的阻力，使国际海事组织型式批准准则足够健全, these have included: the removal of the original fixed implementation dates; the removal of a requirement to install equipment by the ship’s next intermediate survey (if this came sooner than the next renewal survey); and – most important – measures to ensure that ‘early movers’ would not be unfairly penalised by Port State Control.
大发黄金版网页版登录和业界还必须说服海事组织就检查期间抽样的时间采取更公平的港口国控制准则, 并向沿海国提供指导，说明在无法按照《大发黄金版网页版登录》(自2017年9月以来的要求)进行压载水交换的地区作业的船舶在安装处理系统之前应采取的措施.

Biological efficacy tests
国际海事组织统一检验和发证制度(HSSC)指南现在增加了一项与签发国际压载水管理证书(IBWMC)有关的额外初步检验项目。. 本检验项目要求主管部门确认每艘船舶的压载系统在安装后都进行了生物功效试验, 通过采样和分析，提供文件证据来证明从系统排放的处理过的压载水符合要求.
In October 2018, with considerable input from ICS, IMO adopted additional guidance relating to the time of commissioning. 这意味着在发布IBWMC之前，每个生物水管理系统现在都必须被证明具有生物有效性. 因此，这应使船东有机会核实在系统安装时是否已测试并遵守生物功效, and to take appropriate action if necessary.
ICS has always fully supported the objectives of the BWM Convention. Following its entry into force, the industry is at last able to focus fully on implementation and making this a success. It is now in everyone’s interest to ensure that the new IMO regime will deliver genuine environmental benefit, 与在整个世界船队中安装所需的新处理系统的巨大集体成本相称.
ICS以回答“常见问题”的形式，为航运公司制定了一些关于实施BWM公约的全面建议和信息。. These are available free of charge via the ICS website and are being updated regularly.