The 2023 Report to Congress on Commercial Vessel Ballast Water Management authored by the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse and US Coast Guard is now available for download.
The 2018 Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) requires an annual report on the effectiveness of national ballast water management (BWM) requirements. This report provides analyses of (1) the patterns of ballast water (BW) delivery and management; (2) Coast Guard’s compliance and enforcement actions regarding BWM regulations; and (3) patterns of biological invasions by marine and estuarine aquatic nuisance species (ANS). It covers the two-year period from January 2020 through December 2021 to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Coast Guard’s statutorily mandated BWM regulatory program and validates that enforcement efforts continue to increase BWM and reduce the risk of introducing ANS into U.S. waters.
Citation and DOI link for download:
National Ballast Information Clearinghouse and United States Coast Guard. 2023. Commercial Vessel Ballast Water Management (2020-2021): Report to Congress July 7, 2023. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Homeland Security. https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/117294.