National Ballast Information Clearinghouse

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Important information on how to submit a Ballast Water Management Form properly

The NBIC has seen an increased number of PDF Ballast Water Management Reporting forms (BWMR) that are corrupted and unable to be opened, thus requiring rejection. To ensure that your submission is processed, 1) please download a new BWMR from the NBIC, 2) make sure to download it first to your computer instead of opening in your browser, and 3) use only Adobe Acrobat software to complete your BWMR. No other PDF software besides Adobe Acrobat software will work for successful form submission. Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded for free from https://get.adobe.com/reader/

Alternatively, create an account and use the NBIC online web application form as a submission portal. Submission via the web application form requires an internet connection, but allows access to previous report history, is always up to date, and gives instant confirmation that a BWMR has been received by the NBIC. Information on the NBIC web application form can be found at https://nbic.si.edu/submit/onlineform/. Follow the instructions listed on that page to create an account or log into https://invasions.si.edu/ballastwater/auth/login.

Commercial Vessel Ballast Water Management 2022 Report to Congress Now Available For Download

The 2022 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. This report describes the status and trends of ballast water management and detection rates of ballast water mediated introductions. It combines two reporting periods, 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 as called for by the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA).

Citation and DOI link for download:

National Ballast Information Clearinghouse and United States Coast Guard. 2022. Commercial Vessel Ballast Water Management: Report to Congress, September 30, 2022. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Homeland Security. https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/115375

NEW: NBIC report on the analysis of the effect of MSIB 07-19 on the discharge of unmanaged ballast water in U.S. waters in Southeast Florida and the Caribbean available

A new National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (NBIC) report is available for download which analyzes the effect of Marine Safety Information Bulletin (MSIB) 07-19 on the discharge of unmanaged ballast water in US waters in Southeast Florida and the Caribbean. Published by the Coast Guard’s Office of Operating and Environmental Standards (CG-OES) on September 06, 2019, MSIB 07-19 informed vessels representatives of the outbreak of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in Florida and throughout the greater Caribbean region, as well as reminded vessel representatives of required ballast water management practices, and recommended additional voluntary best management practices to reduce the potential of transporting organisms in ballast water. The NBIC, US-OES, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used The NBIC’s ballast water management data to analyze ballast water management practices of vessels in the region prior to, and after, MSIB 07-19 was published.

To download the report, please visit www.nbic.si.edu/publications under “Technical Reports”.

New NBIC Ballast Water Management Reporting Form released and available for download: OMB # 1625-0069

On 20 July 2020 the United States Coast Guard received approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) adopting revisions to the Ballast Water Management Reporting Form (OMB number 1625-0069, expiration date 31 July 2023). This Reporting Form replaces all previous and expired versions. The new Ballast Water Management Reporting Form has two important changes from the most recently expired Reporting Form: 1) The yes/no question “Alternative BW management conducted, per instructions from COTP” has been removed. 2) All vessels are now required to report the date of their last dry dock, information that is critical to the Coast Guard for determining a vessel’s compliance date as specified in 33 CFR 151.1512 & 151.2035.

With approval of the Ballast Water Management Reporting Form, the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (NBIC) will no longer accept expired Reporting Form versions. To fully comply with all Coast Guard Ballast Water reporting requirements, all vessels must use the new Ballast Water Management Reporting Form, since expired versions lack required information.

The new Ballast Water Management Reporting Form (OMB number 1625-0069, expiration date 31 July 2023) can be accessed through the NBIC website as a PDF form or through the Web Application Form.