BALLAST WATER CONVENTION REVIEW PLAN FOR THE EXPERIENCE-BUILDING PHASE ASSOCIATED WITH THE BWM CONVENTION
MEPC.290(71), established the experience-building phase associated with the BWM Convention (EBP), to allow the Marine Environment Protection Committee to monitor and improve the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, in three stages: data gathering, data analysis and Convention review.
IMO BWM 2 Circ 79, attached below, is a Convention Review Plan (CRP) which picks up where the DGAP left off by laying out the Committee's work plan for the remainder of the EBP. It includes a revised timeline that reflects the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the heavy workload of the Committee relating to other matters of importance to the marine environment. Although the DGAP has been completed, it is still considered appropriate for any further information and data to be submitted to the Committee for consideration during the Convention review stage of the EBP.
Aside from these non-penalization measures, the EBP does not alter the basic roles, responsibilities, obligations and recommendations under the Convention, its guidelines and relevant guidance.