Indonesia has today become the latest country to ratify the IMO’s Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, potentially triggering entry into force of the new regulation in 12 months’ time from today.

Detailed checks are now ongoing to determine the exact size of the Indonesian national fleet, an IMO spokesperson told Seatrade Maritime News, with a result to be announced later this week. In any event, entry into force of the new regulation designed to prevent the spread of harmful and invasive aquatic species in ships’ ballast water is now “very close", she added.

The BWM Convention, formally adopted in October 2014, will only enter into force 12 months after its ratification by 30 States, collectively representing 35% of world merchant shipping tonnage. Before Indonesia some 44 countries had already signed up… but representing only about 32.8% of the merchant fleet.

Pictured is IMO secretary-general Koji Sekimizu, shaking hands with Indonesia’s Minister of Ignasius Jonan, who deposited his country’s instrument of acceptance of the BWM treaty during the 29th session of the IMO Assembly taking place this week.