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Introduction

NBIC has been receiving ballast water reporting forms from ships that arrive to U.S. ports from overseas since July 1, 1999. Federal law (National Invasive Species Act of 1996, P.L. 104-332) mandates that all such arriving ships complete and submit a ballast water information report to NBIC. Ballast Water Management Report forms are available in a number of formats.

In an effort to make ballast water data available to state and federal entities, and the public, NBIC has developed an online database that can be queried through our website. Data are accessible for all coastal states on a state-by-state basis. Note that inland ports and waterways, including those of the Great Lakes, have been incorporated into the NBIC database as of August 2004. Information on data availability from earlier Great Lakes arrivals can be requested by contacting the U.S. Coast Guard at (202) 267-4618.

As of July 2010, data from Ballast Water Management Reporting Forms from overseas arrivals (vessels that have operated outside the US and Canadian EEZs just prior to arrival) to the Hudson River (ports north of the George Washington Bridge) and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Massena, NY and Montreal, ON) are included in the NBIC online database. Note: Ballast Water Management Reporting Forms for such arrivals are not reported directly to the NBIC, so data reported here may not be comprehensive. See 33 CFR 151 Subpart C for United States federal regulations pertaining to ballast water management for control of nonindigenous species in the Great Lakes and Hudson River.

Acknowledgement

Access to the data is given with the understanding that the data or analyses derived from the data will not be reproduced in any form without acknowledging the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse as the source. These conditions are specified in a data use statement. Users are required to agree to these conditions in advance of downloading data from the site.

Data Search Instructions

Tabular data are summarized by port in "Table 1 - Ship Arrivals (Summary by Port)". Individual ship arrival records are listed in "Table 2 - Ship Arrival Records" and individual ballast tank records corresponding to ship arrivals are displayed in "Table 3 - Ballast Tank Records." Records can be linked between Table 2 and Table 3 using the ReportID.

See the Glossary of Terms index page for definitions relating to the database search.

To proceed, read through the Data Use Agreement and click on the 'Search NBIC Database' button to go to the public search.

Data Use Agreement and Database Access

Data Release Policy

As part of its mission to provide society with knowledge to meet environmental challenges, the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (a partnership of the U.S. Coast Guard and Smithsonian Environmental Research Center) makes information on ballast water activities of commercial ships operating in the U.S. available to the public. We ask all users to abide by the following conditions and policies:

Data Use Agreement

As a condition for access to the data provided by the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse, I agree to the following:

1. I agree not to sell or distribute data provided by the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse.

2. If data from the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse are used as part of any publication or public presentation, I will acknowledge the NBIC with the following citation:

National Ballast Information Clearinghouse 2023. NBIC Online Database. Electronic publication, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center & United States Coast Guard. Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.5479/data.serc.nbic; searched on October 4, 2023.

Disclaimer

The National Ballast Information Clearinghouse, U.S. Coast Guard, and Smithsonian Institution claim no guarantees for data accuracy or completeness, expressed or implied. All responsibilities for the use of these data will be solely those of the user.

The master, owner, operator or person-in-charge of any vessel equipped with ballast water tanks, that is bound for ports or places in U.S. waters, must ensure complete and accurate ballast water management reports (BWM reports) are submitted in accordance with 33 CFR 151.2041. However, completeness of reporting by vessel operators cannot be guaranteed by the NBIC. Therefore, data are released "as is" for public use and should be treated as preliminary, provisional data and used with appropriate caution.

The NBIC uses rigorous quality control and quality assurance measures when processing ballast water management data, thereby ensuring high fidelity between what is reported to NBIC and the content of the NBIC database. The QA/QC protocol includes direct communications with BWM form submitters, including specific requests for re-submission when necessary. When a corrected BWM form is received by the NBIC, its content replaces that which was originally submitted and entered into the NBIC database previously.

In no event shall the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse, U.S. Coast Guard, or Smithsonian Institution, its sponsors, or their respective employees, agents, suppliers, or contractors be liable for any damages of any kind or character, including without limitation any compensatory, incidental, direct, indirect, special, punitive, or consequential damages, loss of use, loss of data, loss of income or profit, loss of or damage to property, claims of third parties, or other losses of any kind or character, even if the Smithsonian Institution and its sponsors have been advised of the possibility of such damages or losses, arising out of or in connection with the use of these data.

I understand the disclaimer and I agree to the data use conditions. Clicking the NBIC search button is considered an explicit agreement with the data release policy: