Tokyo and Paris MoUs Launch Joint Inspection Campaign on Ballast Water Management

The member Authorities of the Tokyo and Paris Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control will conduct a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Ballast Water Management.

The three-month campaign, starting September 1 and running through November 30, aims “to determine if ships meet the mandatory requirements for Ballast Water Management as prescribed in the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004,” according to the official announcement.

Port State Control Officers will verify several key areas during inspections, including proper BWM certification, approval of the Ballast Water Management Plan, crew familiarity with implementation procedures, and ballast water record-keeping.

“If any non-conformities are found, actions by the port State may vary from recording a deficiency and instructing the Master to rectify it within a certain period of time, to detaining the ship until the serious deficiencies have been rectified,” the joint statement noted.

Each vessel will undergo only one inspection during the campaign period. Results will be published on both organizations’ websites and analyzed for potential submission to the International Maritime Organization.

The Paris MoU represents 27 maritime authorities primarily in Europe, while the Tokyo MoU includes 22 authorities across the Asia-Pacific region. Both organizations coordinate port state inspections to enforce compliance with international maritime regulations.

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