The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources requires the responsible ballast water officer of the vessel to manage ballast water prior to arrival in Australia’s territorial sea (the territorial sea is the area out to 12 nautical miles from the Australian coastal baseline).
The ePAR is an electronic smart form that must be transmitted to the department
Maritime National Coordination Centre (MNCC) prior to arrival at the first Australian port of call on the vessel’s itinerary. The MNCC must receive the completed form between 96 and 12 hours prior to arrival at that first port. The term ‘port’ includes pilot boarding ground and anchorage or roadstead.
The ePAR requires reporting on a range of issues of biosecurity interest. A single question seeks information about ballast water management:
Q9:
Is the vessel in compliance with the Australian Ballast Water Management Requirements?
Under the Biosecurity Act 2015, it is an offence to discharge ballast water in Australian seas. However, a person does not commit an offence if an exception applies (Chapter 5
Biosecurity Act 2015). The Australian Ballast Water Management Requirements can help vessel masters to understand their legal requirements under the Biosecurity Act and maintain compliance with Australia’s requirements.
Ballast water intended for discharge anywhere inside Australia’s territorial sea must be managed to a level of ‘low risk’ by the department's definition.
Note: Any changes subsequent to the lodgement of the ePAR must be reported immediately to the
MNCC.
The department considers all salt water from ports and coastal waters outside Australia’s territorial sea to present a ‘high risk’ of introducing
exotic marine pests into Australia. The discharge of high risk ballast water from ships is prohibited anywhere inside Australia’s territorial waters which includes the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef and part of the Torres Strait region.
Ballast water of the following types are considered by the department to be ‘low risk’:
- fresh water, sourced from a municipal water supply, with supporting documentation - Relative Density 1.002 or less at 15°C and 1000 hPa atmospheric pressure (with supporting documentation)
- ballast water that has been exchanged at an approved location (mid-ocean) by an approved method
- ballast water of which at least 95% was taken up in mid-ocean.
- ballast water of which at least 95% was taken up inside Australia’s territorial sea
- ballast water that has been managed by an approved ballast water management system in accordance with the vessels ballast water management plan and the manufacturer’s instructions.
Refer to the
Australian Ballast Water Management Requirements for further information.
Full details about how to complete the rest of the
ePAR form are provided.
General
All overseas vessels arriving at Australian ports or waters are required to manage their ballast water prior to entering Australia. High risk ballast water must not be discharged in Australia’s territorial sea. High risk ballast water, by the department's definition, is all water taken up in ports or coastal regions outside the Australian territorial sea.
The department has approved the following ballast water management options for the treatment of high risk ballast water, including Ballast Water Management Systems:
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Non-discharge of ballast water in Australian ports or waters. High risk ballast water may be transferred from tank-to-tank on board. Please note that while the carriage and transfer of high risk ballast water inside the territorial sea is legal, the department strongly discourages these practices. Please refer to the
Australian Ballast Water Management Requirements for further details.
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Full ballast water exchange in the deep ocean, by an approved method, prior to arrival in Australia’s territorial sea.
The responsible ballast water officer is required to complete a new BWR other than Ballast Water Management Systems, for every voyage to Australia. This form must be sent to
MNCC in addition to the
ePAR.
The original BWR—complete with any comments or endorsements made by the department—must be retained on board the vessel in accordance with the Biosecurity Act for a period of at least 2 years. Past and present reports must be produced to the department upon request at any time during that period.
The BWR is intended to demonstrate real-time ballast water management records that must be kept:
- in the ship’s deck, or
- engineering logbooks,and
- in a dedicated ballast water management record book.
It is a requirement that all ballast water records should be kept as per the vessel ballast water management plan. Please note that the keeping of a dedicated ballast water management record system (written or electronic) is a requirement under the Biosecurity Act.
Note: For further assistance in completing the BWR, please refer to the BRW other than Management Systems example.
Top section—vessel details:
Ship’s name: Record the name of the ship.
Year built: Record the year in which the ship was constructed.
Call sign: Record the ship’s call sign.
IMO/(Lloyd’s) no: Record the ship’s unique identification number, as used by
International Maritime Organisation.
Page number: Record both the number of this page and how many pages in total.
Record ocean depth at which exchange has occurred in meters (min and max).
Date: Record the date you are making the declaration.
Responsible ballast water officer’s signature: The responsible ballast water officer to sign each Australian BWR in the space provided.
Column A—Ballast water tanks/cargo holds:
Tank: List
all ballast tanks (including cargo holds used for ballast water) on board.
Full capacity: Record the maximum capacity of every tank in cubic metres.
Column B—Ballast water source:
Ballast water uptake: Record the port where ballast water was taken up for the voyage. If ballast water was taken up at sea, please record the location of uptake using latitude and longitude coordinates.
Uptake date: Record the dates of ballast water uptakes. Please use DD/MM/YY notation.
Volume of ballast water taken up: Record the actual volume, in cubic meters, of ballast water taken up at the place/date/ time in question.
Column C—Exchange:
Pump identification: Identify pumps for ballasting and state CURRENT, measured delivery rate - the amount of water per hour from experiential volume and measurement that the pumps currently deliver. This is not the same as the rated capacity of the new pumps. For details on how to measure and record pump delivery rates please refer to
Australian Ballast Water Management Requirements.
Exchange location: Record start and end locations of deep sea ballast water exchange for each tank in Latitude / Longitude coordinates.
Exchange date/time: Record start and end date and time for each tank exchange operations – please use DD/MM/YY and 24 HR hh:mm (local time) formats.
List the pumps used: Record which pump(s) was used to exchange each tank.
Empty/refill only: Residual volume when empty (m3) - When using the empty refill method – record what volume was left in the tank at the end of the emptying cycle before refilling the tank – resultant mix of ballast water in each tank must contain no more than 5 per cent of high risk water.
Flow-through/dilution: Volume pumped (m3) - When using the flow-through or dilution methods, record the Volume of water pumped (Measured Capacity of pump(s) used for exchange (m3/hr) x Hours of pumping). (The timing of the flow through exchange must start when the tank overflows and not from when pumping starts)
Percentage exchanged: Record the percentage of the tank’s FULL capacity that was exchanged at sea. The percentage must be at least 95% in the case of empty/refill method exchanges and at least 300% in the case of flow-through or dilution method exchanges.
Final volume of tank after exchange: Record the final volume of each tank after last uptake/exchange to demonstrate the actual volume in each tank.
Column D—Intended Australian discharge port for ballast water:
Ballast water discharge port: Record name of intended Australian port at which each tank’s contents will be discharged.
Discharge date: Record date of intended discharge for each tank at the relevant Australian port, in DD/MM/YY format.
Volume for discharge (m3): Record volume intended to be discharged from each tank, in cubic metres.
Bottom section
Ballast water tank codes: The codes provided are suggested abbreviations for use in identifying ballast water tanks on board.
Notes:
- If there are insufficient rows on the form for all tanks, attach an additional BWR other than Ballast Water Management Systems.
- For vessels that arrive in Australia with some or all ballast tanks ‘empty’ record residual volume(s) in this part ‘Empty /Refill Only – Residual Volume when empty (m3)’ under section C of the BWR other than Ballast Water Management Systems.
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