Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has revised a variety of biosecurity reporting requirements.
Industry Advice Notice 38-2023 (February 2023) contains details of amendments to ballast water reporting.
The ballast water report changes included:
- an increased number of accepted ballast tanks from 30 to 100 tanks.
- a checkbox reminder to list all tanks.
- validation for ballast water tank management start date/times so that the start date/time cannot be before the management end date/time.
- an updated responsible officer field role to include a number of dropdown options.
- an updated field title change, from ‘Final Volume’ details to ‘Final Volume after Management’.
- a new option to record the ballast water ‘management method’.
There are also three new questions about ballast water contingency measures that will allow users to report the use of a contingency measure and receive an exemption for ballast water managed with a contingency measure.
A contingency measure may only be used in the instance of a Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) failure or similar unforeseen circumstance. These circumstances may include an inoperable BWMS where all reasonable steps have been undertaken to repair the BWMS prior to uptake or discharge of ballast water. The Department has published a circular with advice on contingency measures. You can access this circular by clicking this link.
The Department reminds ship masters and agents:
- to read and understand the Biosecurity Status Document (BSD) directions and conditions and keep a copy of the current document on board the vessel for the duration of the voyage in Australia.
- that any changes in circumstances during the voyage in Australian waters, particularly changes to the human health of travellers, must be submitted via MARS or reported to the National Maritime Centre (NMC) as soon as practicable.
- that a failure to report accurately or comply with a requirement under the Biosecurity Act may result in penalties, including infringement notices, civil penalties, or criminal prosecutions.
Further reading
DAFF’s “Vessels” webpage
Reporting and using contingency measures for ships installed with ballast water management systems
