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Azerbaijan hosts international workshop on ballast water management

14 April 2009 13:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov - APA-Economics. With support from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Azerbaijanâ€™s State Maritime Administration (ASMA) hosted an international workshop on ballast water management, bringing together IMO experts and representatives from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Russia.

Gudret Gurbanov, Head of ASMA, said the objective of the workshop was to exchange experiences on the protection of the marine environment, prevention of marine pollution, conservation of marine biological environment in the international maritime transport and improve the existing practice.

â€œThere is a regulatory and legal framework to address the problems arising from pollution of sea by vessels. Azerbaijan is taking measures in accordance with the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships,â€ he added.

In his words, Azerbaijan has to date ratified 23 IMO conventions and protocols.
IMO expert Jose Matheickan said that the fight against the discharge of harmful bacteria and substances into the Caspian basin through ballast water is possible within the framework of cooperation in the region.

Ballast water is carried in unladen ships to provide stability. It is taken on board at the port before the voyage begins and tiny stowaways, in the form of marine organisms, are taken on board with it.
During the voyage, temperature changes in the ballast water and lack of food and light kill many, but not all, of these organisms. At the ships’ destination, the cargo is loaded and the ballast water, with its surviving stowaway organisms, is pumped out. Some of these organisms then establish populations in the surrounding waters.
While some appear benign, others have become pests, threatening biodiversity, fisheries and aquaculture. Some introduced species severely deplete native populations or deprive them of food. Others form colonies which can smother existing fauna.
Besides, harmful substances and bacteria ships discharge with ballast water in ports damage biodiversity and marine environment.