P&I club The American Club has issued an alert to inform members of new ballast water requirements in Turkey.
The club says Turkish authorities have recently issued a notice regarding their efforts to ensure that foreign flagged vessels have met the Regulation D-2 ballast water performance standard as required by the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) that went into force on 8 September this year.
The regulation D-2 standard specifies that vessels conducting ballast water management shall discharge less than 10 viable organisms per cubic metre greater than or equal to 50 micrometres in minimum dimension and less than 10 viable organisms per milliliter less than 50 micrometres in minimum dimension and greater than or equal to 10 micrometres in minimum dimension; and discharge of the indicator microbes shall not exceed the specified concentrations.
The following policy will apply to vessels calling at Turkish ports:
1. Before vessels are cleared upon arrival, authorities will check the information uploaded to the Port Management Information System as to whether the International Ballast Water Management Certificate has been issued in compliance with the D-2 standard of the BWM Convention.
2. For vessels that do not have documentation that establishes compliance with the D-2 standard, port State control authorities will perform an inspection. Thereafter, the vessel will be allowed to resume its voyage once authorities have received confirmation from the vessel’s flag State or shipyard that the vessel is scheduled to install or rectify their D-2 standard compliant ballast water treatment system.
3. Vessels that do not produce documentary evidence of compliance with the D-2 standard of the BWM Convention will not be allowed entry into Turkish ports unless they meet the requirements of the D-2 standard.
4. Container and roll-on/roll-off vessels calling at Turkish ports on liner voyages are allowed additional time, until November 20, 2024, to comply with the D-2 standard.