Belgium has become the 48th nation to sign the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, bringing the total amount of entered tonnage to 34.82%, tantalisingly short of the 35% required for it to enter into force.

Guy Trouveroy, Belgian ambassador to the UK, signed the Convention in a meeting at his home in London with new IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim.

Trouveroy also signed the Hong Kong Ship Recycling Convention, bringing the number of contracting States to four. The convention requires no less than 15 states and 40% of world gross tonnage to sign, before enter force two years after ratification. The combined maximum annual ship recycling volume of those States must, during the preceding 10 years, constitute not less than 3% of their combined merchant shipping tonnage.

The IMO secretary-general petitioned other states to ratify both the BWM and Hong Kong treaties, in order to bring them into force.

The BWM Convention had now entered its 12th year without being ratified, despite predictions it would make the grade in late November 2015 after a flurry of ratifications. After a recount, it was found that the required 35% threshold of world tonnage had not been met.