Management of Maritime Operations - Essay Example

The International Convention for the control and management of ships’ ballast water and sediments (bwm) was adopted by IMO in February 2004. It has yet to enter force. Write a report/essay to the board of directors of the company for which you act as a maritime operations manager outlining the operational and commercial effects of the Convention’s requirements. 1. Introduction One of the most critical challenges for firms operating globally is the alignment of their activities with the rules of international law; usually the requirements of these rules are difficult to be met since they are likely to be quite complex. Such issue occurs in the case of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM). The terms of this Convention are reviewed and explained in this paper aiming to show the operational and commercial effects of this legislative text on the organization. Suggestions are made as to how the challenges that the specific Convention sets for the organization could be faced. It is concluded that the organization should develop a series of measures for avoiding violating the terms of the Convention; however, because such event cannot be considered as guaranteed, a careful examination of the terms of the Convention should be primarily developed. Then, measures can be taken in accordance with the level of the involvement of the organization in such risk, if such involvement can be estimated, the cost and the resources required, the effects of such initiative and the expected success of the relevant efforts. The avoidance of any violation of the laws related to marine activities should be among the firm’s priorities; but the methodology through which such target could be achieved should be carefully reviewed and developed, in the context explained below. 2. International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM) 2.1 Overview and aims of the Convention The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM) was adopted in 2004 and entered into force within 12 months (IMO 2011). However, still the Convention is ratified only by 30 states, meaning that there is a significant gap to be covered so that the enforcement of the Convention worldwide to become more effective. The pollution caused in the marine ecosystem through the ballast water, which carries harmful aquatic organisms, is the Convention’s key issue. In order to understand the value of the Convention it would be necessary to refer to the key characteristics of ballast water and its potential effects on marine ecosystems: ballast water is used for ensuring ships’ stability during voyage which can be threatened in case that the cargo is less than a minimum weight (European Maritime Safety Agency 2011). Ballast water can cause severe turbulences in the marine ecosystems seems it ‘contains microscopic organisms’ (Business Link 2011); ballast water carries these organisms and transfers them from one region to another setting issues of pollution and alternation of local ecosystems. In accordance with Pyc (2011) the harmful aquatic organisms included in the ballast water can cause severe environmental challenges; ballast water can ‘create hazards to the environment, human health, property or resources impair biological diversity’ (Pyc 2011, p.8). Today, due to the ‘expanded trade and traffic volume’ (IMO 2011) the amount of ‘invasive species’ (IMO 2011) in ballast water has been significantly increased. The introduction of the Convention was considered as necessary in order to face the important environment issues that are set through the ballast water worldwide. The Convention has been divided into articles while the technical standards are explained in a separate section, Annex (IMO 2011). 2.2 Requirements Through the Convention obligations are set for the organizations operating in the shipping industry, referring to the organizations using vessels for their activities. The Convention ‘sets timelines for the installation of treatment technologies to meet a ballast water treatment standard and includes procedures for the assessment and approval of such technologies’ (World Shipping Council 2011). The above description of the Convention’s main methodology for controlling pollution is quite effective, including all the key parts of the Convention’s methodology for ensuring the protection of marine ecosystems from ballast water. In the context of the Convention, ‘a ship would have to implement a Ballast Water and Sediments Management Plan’ (IMO 2011, General Obligations); at the next level, the ship should carry the ‘Ballast Water Record Book’ (IMO 2011) and develop the Ballast Water management plan following the requirements and the guidelines of the Convention (IMO 2011). Also, the ship ‘has to be surveyed and certified’ (Article 7 of the Convention, IMO 2011); the inspection would include the check of the Ballast Water Record Book and the overall management of the ballast water (IMO 2011). The port State would have the authority to develop any necessary inspection in order to ensure that a ship follows the rules of the particular Convention. The requirements of the Convention may be considered as strict and difficult to follow; however, the wide range of technical characteristics of vessels involved in shipping activities makes the complexity of the Convention’s rules unavoidable. Also, the Convention provides the availability of an initial period for the alignment of a vessel’s standards and rules with those included in the Convention (IMO 2011). The problem currently faced by the initiators of the Convention is the following one: not all countries have ratified the Convention; in fact, the Convention has been ratified only by 30 countries, a fact that leads delays and obstacles in the full implementation of the Convention within the international law. In accordance with a report published by IMO, the key priority of the commission working on the promotion of the Convention would be the following one: ‘to reach an agreement on issues such as the global standards for ballast water exchange and treatment’ (IMO, 2011). The Malaysia has ratified the Convention a few months ago (Marine Department of Malaysia 2011). The country has developed a series of activities ensuring the alignment of its ports and ships (those that have the flag of the country) with the rules of the Convention. The text adopted for the ratification (see the Marine Department of Malaysia 2011) of the Convention indicates the complexity of the latter; the transformation of the Convention’s rules so that they become simpler and easier to be applied should be another of the targets of the Convention’s initiators and supporters. 2.3 Operational and commercial effects of the Convention’s requirements The operational and commercial effects of the Convention for the organization can be derived through Commentaries developed on the particular legislative text. Also, in the literature, the impact of the specific text and other similar legal rules on business activities have been analysed and evaluated. At a first level, in the context of the Convention a ship needs to alternate its existing technical systems in order to be aligned with the standards set in the Convention (Thomas et al. 2008). The members of the crew should be also appropriately trained so that they are able to follow the relevant instructions and meet the requirements of the Convention (Thomas et al. 2008). The cost of these initiatives can be high especially when the existing standards of the ship, referring especially to the systems used in the management of ballast water are highly differentiated from those standards set by the Convention (Khee-Jin Tan 2006). Also, the legal part of the relevant project should be taken into consideration, meaning not just the legal costs involved but also the potential transformation of existing contracts for the transformation of cargo (Environmental Law Institute 2003); the above issue should be of particular importance since it could harm the firm’s profitability, either in the short or the long term. When the existing technical standards of a ship have to be differentiated, important operational issues may appear, such as the potential ability of the ship to meet the new standards, meaning that the technology on which the ship is based may not be able to respond to the new standards (Shine et al. 2000). On the other hand, the time required for updating/ fixing a ship’s technical standards can be important, preventing the vessel from traveling (Davies 2005). There is also the following case: if the ship is found to have violated, even by mistake, one or more of the standards set by the Convention, then its ‘name’ in the market is going to suffer a significant damage (Kwiatkowska et al. 2001); reference is made especially to the firm that has delegated to the particular ship the transfer of its products. The legal and institutional framework of the Convention is presented in Table 1, Appendix; through this framework the potential effects and implications of the Convention can be made clear. 2.4 Issues for consideration – Recommendations The requirements of the Convention in regard to the promotion of its targets, as described above, can be considered as justified, taking into consideration the level of sea pollution globally. However, under certain terms it would be difficult for a business to respond to all the Convention’s requirements. Moreover, the potential violation of the rules of the Convention would have significant effects for the violators, either individuals or organizations. Apart from the need for compensating any damage caused to the marine ecosystem, a firm that would have violated the rules of the Convention would face difficulties in regard to the development of activities, meaning that many of its customers would stop their cooperation with the specific business. On the other hand, almost all firms have been involved in environmental conflicts, since the terms of the relevant legislation are often difficult to be met, as in the Convention under examination. In this context, it is suggested that the organization keep its current plan of action, meaning that it should not change its operational strategies, at least not immediately. Since the Convention has not been ratified by all countries, the potential chances for violating one of the Convention’s rules are limited; currently, in accordance with the official website of IMO, the Convention is ratified by just 30 states. Moreover, as analysed above, the cost for meeting the requirements of the Convention would be significant, reference is made to the relevant cost for the organization in both the short and the long term. For this reason, at this moment, the organization should proceed to the following initiatives: a) first, the firm’s marine operations should be reviewed and evaluated; a report should be developed with the firm’s relevant activities aiming to see at what level the firm is, currently, exposed to a risk of violating the Convention’s rules, b) if the firm’s operations are involved in countries that have ratified the Convention, then a cooperation should be developed between the authorities monitoring the application of the Convention’s rules and the organization in order for the latter to align its activities accordingly, c) finally, in any case, the firm’s marine activities should be checked again whether they are fully aligned with the international law of the sea, meaning especially the law related to marine pollution; in other words, the avoidance of any violation of the relevant international laws should be a priority of the organization, taking into consideration the common effects of such violations; the above effort would be appreciated by the authorities in case that the firm is found to be involved, more or less, in any violation of the Convention’s rules. 3. Conclusion The protection of the marine ecosystem should be the priority for all individuals and organizations worldwide. However, in practice, business activities are often difficult to be fully aligned with the existing environment law. On the other hand, the review of the literature and the relevant legislation proved that the transfer of ballast water from one region to another results to severe damages on the local marine ecosystems, mostly due to the harmful aquatic organisms included in the ballast water. The terms of the International Convention for the control and management of ships ballast water and sediments, as analysed above, guarantee the protection of marine ecosystems from harmful aquatic organisms transferred through the ballast water. However, because the requirements of the Convention are rather difficult to be met, it is questioned how businesses worldwide could be prevented from developing such practices. Moreover, ballast water is an indispensable part of shipping activities, meaning that there could be no alternative available for keeping the balance of ships during navigation. The development of cooperation between the authorities monitoring the enforcement of the Convention and representatives of the shipping industry is necessary; in this way, an operational practice could be identified for checking the quality of ballast water before send it back to the sea; the filtering of the ballast water could be a potential method for decreasing or even avoiding the pollution of marine ecosystems worldwide. Other similar plans of action could be developed ensuring that the aims of the Convention are achieved, even if its requirements cannot be fully met. References Business Link (2011) Control and management of ballast water. Retrieved in November 12, 2011. Available from http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1087170674&type=RESOURCES Davies, I. (2005) Issues in international commercial law. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing. Environmental Law Institute (2003) Environmental law deskbook. Washington: Environmental Law Institute. European Maritime Safety Agency (2011) Ballast Water. Retrieved in November 12, 2011. Available from http://www.emsa.europa.eu/implementation-tasks/environment/ballast-water.html International Maritime Organization (2011) International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM). Retrieved in November 12, 2011. Available from http://www.imo.org/About/Conventions/ListOfConventions/Pages/International-Convention-for-the-Control-and-Management-of-Ships-Ballast-Water-and-Sediments-(BWM).aspx International Maritime Organization (2011) Ballast Water Management. Retrieved in November 12, 2011. Available from http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Environment/BallastWaterManagement/Pages/Default.aspx International Maritime Organization (2011) Alien invaders in ballast water - new Convention adopted at IMO. Retrieved in November 12, 2011. Available from http://www.imo.org/blast/mainframe.asp?topic_id=848&doc_id=3475 Khee-Jin Tan, A. (2006) Vessel-source marine pollution: the law and politics of international regulation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kwiatkowska, B., Dotinga, H. (2001). International organizations and the law of the sea: documentary yearbook. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. MARINE DEPARTMENT MALAYSIA. (2011) IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT OF SHIPS BALLAST WATER AND SEDIMENTS, 2004 (BMW 2004). Retrieved in November 12, 2011. Available from http://www.marine.gov.my/service/notice/NPM/2011/MSN282011BWM.pdf Pyć, D. (2011) Recommendations for the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments Implementation in Marine Ports. Report prepared according to contract No 6/Baltic Master II/2011 Maritime Safety Transport & Environment in the Baltic Sea Region. Retrieved in November 12, 2011. Available from http://www.balticmaster.org/media/files/general_files_1104.pdf Khee-Jin Tan, A. (2006) Vessel-source marine pollution: the law and politics of international regulation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Shine, C., Williams, N., Gundling, L. (2000) A guide to designing legal and institutional frameworks on alien invasive species. Cambridge: IUCN Τhomas, S., Copeland, C. (2008). Water pollution issues and developments. New York: Nova Publishers. World Shipping Council (2011) Ballast Water. Retrieved in November 12, 2011. Available from http://www.worldshipping.org/industry-issues/environment/invasive-species/ballast-water Appendix Table 1 - Legal and institutional framework of the Convention (Source: Pyc, 2011, p.12) Read More