National Seminars on Ships’ Ballast Water Management organised in Morocco and Israel – Oct 01, 2012

Two national seminars aimed at raising awareness about ships’ ballast water management were organised by REMPEC in Morocco and Israel on 15-16 and 18-19 October 2012 respectively.  The Seminars, funded by IMO’s Integrated Technical Co-operation Programme (ITCP) and the EU-funded SafeMed II Project being implemented by the Centre in the Mediterranean region, were organised in close co-operation with GEF/UNDP/IMO GloBallast Partnerships Project, and the respective Moroccan and Israeli Maritime Administrations.

These Seminars follow a similar National Seminar organised by REMPEC in Tunisia last June, also funded by IMO’s ITCP.
Aimed at assisting Contracting Parties with the implementation of the Mediterranean Strategy on Ships’ Ballast Water Management adopted earlier this year, these capacity building activities form an integral part of UNEP-MAP’s Programme of activities approved by the 17th Ordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, and delivered by REMPEC.  The activities are also integrated with the implementation of the global GloBallast Partnerships Project which is also being implemented in the Mediterranean and which was recently extended till 2016. 

Participants representing different national stakeholders  further enhanced their knowledge about  the importance of regulating ships’ ballast water management with a view to preventing the introduction of harmful aquatic organisms in their respective marine environment. Apart from familiarising themselves with the provisions of the IMO International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, the participants had the opportunity to exchange views on practical aspects of the implementation of the Convention and agree on initial preparatory action leading to the ratification of the Convention.