BIMCO has published its Ballast Water Management 2025 report, presenting the results of its industry survey on the operational realities of implementing the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention).
Since September 2024, the BWM Convention has entered a mature phase of global implementation, with most of the world fleet operating approved BWMS under the D-2 standard, yet practical challenges related to system performance, usability and enforcement under real trading conditions have become increasingly evident.
The Ballast Water Management 2025 report confirms that, while global implementation of the BWM Convention has reached a mature phase, significant operational challenges persist across ship types, trades and ballast water management system (BWMS) technologies.
“These challenges are not isolated or exceptional, but systemic and recurrent, particularly during time-critical port operations, cargo handling and ballast uptake or discharge under challenging water quality (CWQ) conditions,” explains BIMCO.
While the survey did not capture the proportional distribution of ship types within individual fleets, bulk carriers, product tankers and chemical tankers were the most commonly occurring ship types.
Operational findings show that Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) performance is often constrained by environmental conditions, system behaviour and alarm management. Frequent alarm cascades, intermittent shutdowns, sensor faults, and unpredictable system responses, often occurring during peak crew workload. UV-based systems were identified as particularly sensitive to challenging water quality (CWQ), with low UV transmittance frequently triggering alarms, automatic shutdowns, or forced bypass during ballast uptake.
Importantly, CWQ was described not as an exception but as a routine and predictable reality in many ports, rivers, and estuaries. Consequently, the use of contingency measures has become a normal component of ballast water management (BWM) in practice.
Respondents reported regularly activating contingency pathways in line with IMO guidance, due to CWQ, system malfunctions, time pressures, or extended repair periods caused by limited access to authorised service engineers or spare parts.
In some cases, defects remained unresolved for more than two months, making contingency measures unavoidable. In addition, experiences during third-party inspections further indicate that BWMS-related findings remain common.
Inspection challenges were most often linked to:
- system malfunctions
- alarms
- documentation gaps
- difficulties demonstrating compliance when contingency measures had been applied.
Respondents further highlighted inconsistent interpretations by inspectors regarding alarms, system behaviour, and contingency actions, creating compliance uncertainty—even when crews were acting in accordance with manufacturer instructions and IMO guidance.
BIMCO also highlighted the significant human-element implications of BWMS operation. Frequent alarms, troubleshooting demands, and administrative burdens increase crew workload, particularly during port operations, contributing to fatigue and, in some cases, rest-hour exceedances.
Download the report: Ballast Water Management Report 2025