A summary of the decisions taken at the sixty-fourth session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 64) held from 1 to 5 October 2012 is provided below for your information.

1. Ballast Water Management Convention
Adopted in 2004, the Ballast Water Management Convention will enter into force 12 months after ratification by 30 states, representing 35% of the world merchant shipping tonnage. As of the end of December 2012, it has not yet come into effect with ratification by 36 countries, representing 29.07% of the world merchant fleet tonnage.
(1) Review of the availability of ballast water treatment technologies and status of progress in their installation
MEPC has been continuously conducting technical reviews to address issues regarding the status of development and installation of ballast water management systems.
Further, responding to information concerning the current status of installation of ballast water management systems submitted to MEPC63 (March 2012) by Japan, member states were requested to submit information on ships under their flag to MEPC 64.
At the session, based on reports from Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and others, it was recognized that the installation rate of approved BWMS remains quite low worldwide. Accordingly, it was agreed to establish a correspondence group (e-mail based discussion group) to develop a draft IMO Assembly resolution with a view to adoption by the twenty-eighth session of the Assembly in 2013 concerning the provision of the installation of ballast water management systems.

(To be continued)