Overall Conclusions on the Ballast Water Issue and Its Management Options - Global Maritime Transport and Ballast Water Management: Issues and Solutions - page 294

the frequency of studies, the habitats to be included, i.e., plankton, benthos, fouling,
the number of sampling stations, and the availability of taxonomic expertise would
need to be considered. If environmental matching RA results in acceptable low risk,
no biological data is needed.

Ballast Water Sampling and Sample Processing

Many different ballast water sampling (BWS) methods and equipment have been
used for different BWS purposes. Shipboard sampling is also conducted for BWMS
testing for type approval. Hence, BWS methods for testing BWMS actually exist,
and these have been approved by different national responsible authorities. However,
studies have shown that BWS results may be biased by different sampling processes
because of, e.g., patchy distribution of organisms in tanks, die-off of organisms during
sampling etc. As there is still no commonly agreed BWS methodology or approach,
this may impact representative sampling, and certain vessels may be found in
compliance with BWM requirements in one port, but not in another due to different
sampling methods and approaches chosen.
BWS studies have shown that different methods and sampling equipment may
be used for different sampling goals, e.g., sampling for D-1 or D-2 standards,
indicative or detailed sampling. Sampling methods and equipment also depend on
ballast water access points, i.e., in-tank via manholes, sounding pipes or air vents, or
in-line installed sampling points, and on the target groups of organisms, i.e., organisms
greater than or equal to 50 μ m in minimum dimension, organisms less than 50 μ m

and greater than or equal to 10 m in minimum dimension, and indicator microbes.

Sampling inaccuracy remains a signifi cant issue and it may therefore be easier to
prove non-compliance rather than compliance to the D-2 standard. From a legal and
biological perspective, proving non-compliance is easier and more defensible.
It is of prime importance to consider the appropriate BWS approach for compliance
monitoring and enforcement (CME) according to the BWM Convention. The BWS
methods described in the chapter “ Ballast Water Sampling and Sample Analysis for
Compliance Control ” were extensively used on board vessels to test BWMS to proof
compliance especially with the D-2 standard, and these methods were scientifi cally
validated by additional tests and studies. These BWS methods have also shown to be
relatively simple, cost effective and they are generally applicable on all vessel types
and in all geographic regions. With this these BWS methods and recommendations
may result in a workable, equitable and pragmatic solution to ease port State CME
efforts, and to support the entry into force and effi cient implementation of the BWM
Convention. However, it is also believed that the developed sampling methods and
approaches can be improved further, which highlights the need of future work on
this subject.
There are two approaches to analyse ballast water samples to proof compliance
with BWM requirements, i.e., the samples may be analysed indicatively or in detail.
A comprehensive review of sample processing technology, conducted by the authors,

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