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The upcoming meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee of IMO is scheduled to be held in London from July 3rd to July 7th. During the meeting, guidelines regarding biofouling will be presented for adoption, and a protocol for the monitoring devices to ensure compliance with ballast water regulations will also be discussed.

Prior to the upcoming International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting, the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 10) held a meeting on April 24-28, 2023, where they approved biofouling guidelines and a protocol for ballast water monitoring devices.

At the upcoming 80th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) on 3-7 July 2023, the 2023 Biofouling Guidelines will be presented for adoption. These guidelines aim to improve and update the previous version to make it more effective and widely accepted.

PPR 10 also recommended creating guidelines for in-water cleaning during a future meeting. The target completion year for these guidelines has been extended to 2025, and the guidelines will now be referred to as "Development of guidance on matters relating to in-water cleaning.

 In addition, PPR 10 approved a preliminary version of the protocol for verifying ballast water compliance monitoring devices, which will be presented for final adoption at MEPC 80. The protocol is a crucial mechanism for facilitating the effective implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) by establishing a shared quality standard for devices used for different purposes. These purposes include checking ballast water management systems during commissioning, inspections by port state control, and ships' self-monitoring. Contact Albion Marine Solutions for more information at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Albion Marine Solutions has undertaken a research and development project to evaluate the efficacy of existing type-approved BWMS filtration technology within the North American Great Lakes water. The already in-use, type-approved Ballast Water Treatment System performs very well in normal sea conditions. The Two main types of Ballast Water Treatment Systems – EC and UV, are facing challenges while operated in Great Lakes caused by low salinity, low temperature, and high turbidity. Albion Marine Solutions will test a type-approved BWMS filter to check whether the Great Lakes ballast water meets current discharge standards.

Under this R&D project, Albion Marine Solutions is collaborating with the partner maker of the Ballast Water Treatment System to supply the filter to the testing location in Great Lakes. The filter which is being tested is both environmentally safe and optimally designed to be used on all vessels. The Great Water Research Collaborative team (GWRC) will test the filter at the Montreal Pier Facility, Superior, WI., from 2023 to 2024 with continuous support from Albion Marine Solutions. The filter will be tested during the spring and summer of 2023, including cold-water ice particle testing in the winter of 2023.

The one-year project will help fill the data gaps associated with filter performance under Great Lakes water quality and biology conditions by measuring the performance of ballast water filters when challenged with cold waters, ice, filamentous protists, and high concentrations of total suspended solids. To conclude, the R& D project will determine the capabilities of approved BWMS to see whether the current filtering technologies can endure the natural environmental conditions of the Great Lakes. Albion Marine Solutions is a global leader, and Canada’s only ABS & Lloyd’s approved service supplier for biological testing of Ballast Water Treatment Systems has completed a significant number of projects worldwide for IMO-D2 Commissioning and the 2013 EPA VGP Discharge Standards. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

IMO welcomes new oceans treaty. Albion Marine Solutions actively contributes to the conservation and protection of marine biological diversity, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution by ships (MARPOL) and the International Ballast Water Management Convention – which aims to prevent the transfer of potentially invasive aquatic species – as well as the London Convention and Protocol regulating the dumping of wastes at sea.

IMO has welcomed the landmark agreement on a new oceans treaty to protect marine biodiversity on the high seas. The new legally binding international instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction – known as 'BBNJ' was agreed on 4 March, following conclusion of the fifth round of treaty negotiations at the United Nations headquarters in New York, United States.

According to IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said: This landmark achievement will no doubt reinforce efforts to protect biodiversity in line with the aims of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity.

 The BBNJ treaty addresses, among other things: 

• The conservation and sustainable use of marine BBNJ. 
• Marine genetic resources, including questions on benefit-sharing (MGR). 
• Area Based Management Tools (ABMT), including marine protected areas. 
• Environmental impact assessments (EIA); and 
• Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology (CB&TMT) 

All ships must abide by the numerous safety regulations that the IMO has adopted, both inside and outside of PSSAs (designated sensitive sea areas), as well as in special and emission control zones. They include stringent guidelines for operating discharges, no-go zones, and other ship routing systems, including those designed to prevent shipping from passing over whales' breeding grounds. For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.