On 1 August 2025, the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU) and the Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding (Tokyo MoU) on Port State Control announced a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Ballast Water Management.
The campaign will be conducted from 1 September to 30 November 2025.
The purpose of the CIC is to verify ships’ compliance with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (BWM Convention).
During the inspections, Port State Control Officers will examine areas including certification, the approval and update status of the Ballast Water Management Plan (BWMP), crew familiarity with the BWMP, system approval and operability, Ballast Water Record Book (BWRB) entries, sediment management, and any exemptions granted.
Each ship will be subject to only one inspection during the campaign.
A standardized questionnaire will be used during inspections. Non-compliance may result in actions ranging from a deficiency notice and an order to rectify, to ship detention until deficiencies are addressed.
The Ballast Water Management Convention, adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2004, aims to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms via ships’ ballast water. After more than a decade of preparation and ratification efforts, the Convention entered into force in September 2017. In the years since, regulatory bodies including the Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU have conducted various inspection campaigns targeting implementation of international maritime safety and environmental standards. A similar joint inspection campaign was conducted by the Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU in 2022, focusing on STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) compliance. Previous campaigns led to numerous ship detentions and demonstrated persistent gaps in implementation, prompting ongoing focus on high-risk areas like ballast water systems.
Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU) is a regional agreement on Port State Control, signed in 1982 by maritime authorities of European and North Atlantic countries. It currently includes 27 member states and is supported by the European Maritime Safety Agency through the THETIS inspection database. The Paris MoU Secretariat is hosted by the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in The Hague.
Established in 1993 and operational since 1994, the Tokyo MoU is a regional Port State Control agreement among 22 maritime authorities in the Asia-Pacific region. The Tokyo MoU Secretariat is located in Tokyo, Japan. International Maritime Organization (IMO) The IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. It developed the Ballast Water Management Convention in 2004 to minimize ecological damage caused by ballast water discharge. The Convention mandates technical standards and procedures for managing ballast water on ships.