Mediterranean Strategy on Ships’ Ballast Water Management adopted by the 17th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention – Jan 01, 2012

The Mediterranean Strategy on Ships’ Ballast Water Management, including its Action Plan and Timetable, was adopted by the 17th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention which was held in Paris, France between the 8 and 10 February 2012. The Strategy was last year endorsed and approved by the REMPEC Focal Points and UNEP/MAP Focal Points Meetings which recommended its adoption by the Contracting Parties Meeting.

The Strategy is the result of the work of the Mediterranean Regional Task Force and of its Focus Groups, which was established in September 2008 with the mandate to develop a Strategic Action Plan for the region. The Task Force, composed of all the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and co-ordinated by REMPEC, was assisted in its work by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and UNEP/MAP’s Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA).

The 17th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention also adopted “General Guidance on the Voluntary Application of the D1 Ballast Water Exchange Standard by Vessels Operating between the Mediterranean Sea and the North-East Atlantic and/or the Baltic Sea”, prepared in close co-operation with the HELCOM and OSPAR Conventions, and agreed to the joint submission, with these other Regional Seas Agreements, of the “General Guidance” to the Secretary-General of IMO for its circulation amongst the members of the Organization.