California State Lands Commission adopted regulatory amendments that will implement the federal ballast water discharge standards of the United States of America (USA) for vessels arriving at California ports. These changes will become effective on 1 January 2022.
The State rules apply to vessels over 300GT that are capable of carrying ballast water. The ballast water management requirements address vessels arriving in California Waters from a port or place outside the Pacific Coast Region and vessels arriving in California Waters from a port or place within the Pacific Coast Region, with ballast water from the Pacific Coast Region. The Pacific Coast Region (PCR) comprises the waters within 200nm of land on the Pacific Coast of North America east of 154°W longitude and north of 25°N latitude, excluding the Gulf of California.
The Commission’s press release dated 15 October 2021 is here. A brochure from the Commission’s Marine Invasive Species Program (MISP) with a summary of the regulatory changes is available here. A commentary published by marine insurance company North P&I on these measures is available here.
De Maribus 