IMO has launched a video showing practical training on ballast water sampling and analysis (8 February). This is part of the organization’s efforts, under the GloBallast Partnerships Programme, to counter the threat to ecosystems by invasive species transported in the ballast water of ships. The video includes a recent training exercise that brought together scientific experts, port state control inspectors and marine biologists from various countries with a view to understanding the possible challenges of implementing IMO’s Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention.
The GloBallast Partnerships Programme is a joint endeavour between IMO, the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Programme, designed to assist developing countries in reducing the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in ships’ ballast water and to implement the BWM Convention.