Ballast Water Regulations (SOR/2021-120)

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 1 (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

  Act

  Act means the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. (Loi)

  Annex

  Annex means the Annex to the Convention. (Annexe)

  ballast water

  ballast water has the same meaning as in article 1 of the Convention. (eaux de ballast)

  ballast water exchange standard

  ballast water exchange standard means the standard set out in regulation D-1 of the Annex. (norme de renouvellement des eaux de ballast)

  ballast water management

  ballast water management has the same meaning as in article 1 of the Convention. (gestion des eaux de ballast)

  ballast water management system

  ballast water management system has the same meaning as in the BWMS Code. (système de gestion des eaux de ballast)

  ballast water performance standard

  ballast water performance standard means the standard set out in regulation D-2 of the Annex. (norme de qualité des eaux de ballast)

  BWMS Code

  BWMS Code means the Code for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems, published by the International Maritime Organization. (Code BWMS)

  Canadian pleasure craft

  Canadian pleasure craft means a pleasure craft that

  • (a) is licensed under Part 10 of the Act; or

  • (b) is principally maintained or operated in Canada, is not a Canadian vessel and is not registered or licensed under the laws of another state. (embarcation de plaisance canadienne)

  Convention

  Convention means the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004, signed at London on February 13, 2004. (Convention)

  Great Lakes Basin

  Great Lakes Basin means the waters of the Great Lakes, their connecting and tributary waters and the waters of the St. Lawrence River as far as the lower exit of the St. Lambert Lock at Montréal in Quebec. (bassin des Grands Lacs)

  IBWM Certificate

  IBWM Certificate means the International Ballast Water Management Certificate issued under regulation E-2 or E-3 of the Annex. (certificat IGEB)

  Minister

  Minister means the Minister of Transport. (ministre)

  release

  release, in respect of ballast water, includes leakage, pumping, pouring, emptying, dumping, spraying or placing. (déversement)

  residual amounts

  residual amounts means the quantity of ballast water that cannot be removed from a ballast tank using the equipment installed on the vessel for that purpose. (quantité résiduelle)

  sediments

  sediments means matter settled out of ballast water within a vessel. (sédiments)

  TP 13617

  TP 13617 means the document entitled List of Canada’s Designated Alternate Ballast Water Exchange Areas and Fresh Waters, published by the Department of Transport. (TP 13617)

  waters under Canadian jurisdiction

  waters under Canadian jurisdiction means Canadian waters and waters in the exclusive economic zone of Canada. (eaux de compétence canadienne)

• Marginal note:Authorized representative

  (2) For the purposes of these Regulations, a reference to the authorized representative of a pleasure craft that is not a Canadian vessel is to be read as a reference to the owner and operator of the pleasure craft.

Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

• 2 (1) Except as otherwise provided, any reference in these Regulations to a document is a reference to the document as amended from time to time.

• Marginal note:Incorporated documents — certain terms

  (2) For the purpose of interpreting a document incorporated by reference into these Regulations,

  • (a) “Administration” is to be read as “Minister” in respect of

    • (i) Canadian vessels,

    • (ii) Canadian pleasure craft, and

    • (iii) floating platforms engaged in the exploration or exploitation of the seabed and subsoil in waters under Canadian jurisdiction, including floating storage units and floating production, storage and off-loading units;

  • (b) “ship” is to be read as “vessel”;

  • (c) “survey” is to be read as “inspection”; and

  • (d) “discharge”, in respect of ballast water, is to be read as “release”.

• Marginal note:Regulation A-3.5 of the Annex

  (3) For the purpose of interpreting regulation A-3.5 of the Annex, the location referred to in that regulation is within 10 nautical miles from another location without encountering a physical barrier or obstruction.

• Marginal note:Definition of viable organisms

  (4) For the purpose of interpreting regulation D-2 of the Annex, viable organisms has the same meaning as in the BWMS Code.

Application

Marginal note:Application

• 3 (1) Except as otherwise provided, these Regulations apply in respect of the following vessels if they are designed or constructed to carry ballast water:

  • (a) Canadian vessels everywhere; and

  • (b) vessels that are not Canadian vessels and are in waters under Canadian jurisdiction.

• Marginal note:Activities related to oil or gas

  (2) These Regulations apply in respect of vessels referred to in subsection (1) that are capable of engaging in the drilling for, or the production, conservation or processing of, oil or gas, except vessels that are on location and engaged in one of those activities in an area referred to in

  • (a) section 3 of the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act;

  • (b) subsection 8(1) of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act; or

  • (c) subsection 8(1) of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (3) These Regulations do not apply in respect of

  • (a) vessels operated under the authority of a state that is not a party to the Convention if they are operated exclusively in the Great Lakes Basin and if they do not take on board or release ballast water in waters under Canadian jurisdiction unless it is necessary to ensure the safety of the vessel during a voyage between ports located outside Canada;

  • (b) vessels that are owned or operated by a state and used only in government non-commercial service; or

  • (c) vessels that carry only permanent ballast water in sealed tanks such that it is not subject to release.

• Marginal note:Quantity

  (4) For greater certainty, these Regulations apply to the management of any quantity of ballast water that may be released from a vessel.

Compliance

Marginal note:Authorized representative and master — Annex

• 4 (1) Except as otherwise provided by these Regulations, the authorized representative and the master of a vessel must ensure that the requirements of the Annex are met in respect of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Authorized representative and master — certain provisions

  (2) The authorized representative and the master of a vessel must ensure that the requirements of section 8, subsections 14(1), 15(1) and 16(1) and sections 17 to 20, 22 and 23 are met.

• Marginal note:Master — ballast water record book

  (3) The master must ensure, in respect of the ballast water record book, that

  • (a) the requirements set out in the Annex to make entries are met;

  • (b) the signature requirements set out in regulation B-2 of the Annex are met;

  • (c) all entries are maintained on board the vessel in accordance with the requirements set out in regulation B-2 of the Annex; and

  • (d) the record book is kept readily available for inspection in accordance with the requirements set out in regulation B-2 of the Annex.

• Marginal note:Authorized representative — ballast water record book

  (4) The authorized representative of a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft must maintain the entries made in the ballast water record book, in accordance with regulation B-2 of the Annex, after the period during which the entries are to be maintained on board the vessel in accordance with that regulation.

• Marginal note:Authorized representative and master — regulation E-1

  (5) The authorized representative and the master of a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft must ensure that the following requirements, as set out in regulation E-1 of the Annex, are met:

  • (a) the reporting requirements if an accident occurs to a vessel or a defect is discovered;

  • (b) the maintenance requirements; and

  • (c) the requirement to obtain approval of a change that is made after an inspection.

Regulation A-4 of the Annex — Exemptions

Marginal note:Canadian vessels

• 5 (1) The Marine Technical Review Board established under section 26 of the Act is authorized, in respect of Canadian vessels, to exercise the powers of a Party to the Convention conferred by regulation A-4 of the Annex in respect of the requirements of sections 15 and 16 and of regulation B-3 of the Annex.

• Marginal note:Other vessels

  (2) On application by the authorized representative of a vessel other than a Canadian vessel, the Minister is authorized to exempt the vessel from the requirements of sections 15 and 16 and of regulation B-3 of the Annex if the application establishes that the applicable conditions described in regulation A-4 of the Annex are met.

Regulation A-5 of the Annex — Equivalent Compliance

Marginal note:Application

• 6 (1) This section applies in respect of

  • (a) vessels that are less than 50 m in overall length and vessels that are not self-propelled and that are of less than 3,000 gross tonnage, if they are operated exclusively

    • (i) in waters under Canadian jurisdiction, or

    • (ii) in waters under Canadian jurisdiction and on the high seas; and

  • (b) vessels that are described in regulation A-5 of the Annex.

• Marginal note:Guidelines

  (2) A vessel described in subsection (1) may, instead of complying with these Regulations, elect to comply with the requirements set out in the Guidelines for ballast water management equivalent compliance (G3), published by the International Maritime Organization.

• Marginal note:Guidelines — recommendations

  (3) For the purpose of interpreting the guidelines referred to in subsection (2), with the exception of any provision relating to ballast water exchange, “should” is to be read as “must” and recommendations are mandatory.

Regulation B-1 of the Annex — Ballast Water Management Plan

Marginal note:Approval

• 7 (1) On application by the authorized representative, the Minister must approve the ballast water management plan of a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft if the plan meets the requirements set out in regulation B-1 of the Annex.

• Marginal note:Language of plan

  (2) Despite subsection (1), the ballast water management plan must be written in English or French, or in both.

Marginal note:Maintenance

8 A vessel must ensure that its ballast water management plan remains up to date and reflects the means by which the vessel complies with the requirements of these Regulations.

Marginal note:Submission to Minister

• 9 (1) The authorized representative of a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft must submit to the Minister any amendment to the ballast water management plan.

• Marginal note:Approval of amendments

  (2) The Minister must approve any amendment to the ballast water management plan if the amendment meets the requirements in respect of the plan that are set out in regulation B-1 of the Annex.

Regulation B-2 of the Annex — Ballast Water Record Book

Marginal note:Language of record book

10 Despite regulation B-2 of the Annex, entries made in the ballast water record book of a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft must be written in English or French, or in both.

Regulation B-3 of the Annex — Ballast Water Management

Compliance Timeline

Marginal note:Certain vessels

• 11 (1) Despite regulation B-3 of the Annex, a vessel constructed before the day on which these Regulations come into force is not required to conduct ballast water management to meet the ballast water performance standard until September 8, 2024, and a vessel constructed before January 1, 2009 is not required to conduct ballast water management to meet that standard until September 8, 2030, if the vessel is operated exclusively

  • (a) in waters under Canadian jurisdiction and, if applicable, the United States’ waters of the Great Lakes Basin; or

  • (b) in waters described in paragraph (a) and on the high seas.

• Marginal note:Definition of constructed

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), constructed has the same meaning as in regulation A-1 of the Annex.

Ballast Water Performance Standard

Marginal note:Deemed compliance

• 12 (1) A vessel using a ballast water management system to meet the ballast water performance standard is deemed to have met that standard in respect of ballast water taken on board in the Great Lakes Basin or in the eastern waters of the St. Lawrence River, if

  • (a) the vessel’s ballast water management system was installed before September 8, 2024 or, in the case of a vessel constructed before January 1, 2009 that is operated exclusively in waters described in paragraph 11(1)(a) or (b), the system was installed before September 8, 2030;

  • (b) the vessel meets the requirements of section 8;

  • (c) the vessel holds and keeps on board a valid IBWM Certificate or an equivalent document referred to in section 23;

  • (d) the vessel’s ballast water management system is in good working order and has been maintained and operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions; and

  • (e) the ballast water is managed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions for the vessel’s ballast water management system, subject to any limiting operating conditions or other restrictions identified in the Type Approval Certificate evidencing the system’s approval under regulation D-3 of the Annex.

• Marginal note:Definition of eastern waters of the St. Lawrence River

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), eastern waters of the St. Lawrence River means the waters of the St. Lawrence River from the lower exit of the St. Lambert Lock at Montréal in Quebec as far seaward as a straight line drawn from Cap-des-Rosiers to Pointe Ouest, Anticosti Island, and from Anticosti Island to the north shore of the St. Lawrence River along the meridian of longitude 63° W, and their connecting and tributary waters.

Alternative Methods of Ballast Water Management

Marginal note:Alternative methods

13 A vessel may, instead of conducting ballast water management to meet the ballast water exchange standard or the ballast water performance standard, as applicable,

• (a) conduct ballast water management in accordance with an alternative method referred to in regulation B-3.7 of the Annex if that method has been approved in accordance with the requirements of that regulation; or

• (b) release potable water, taken on board as ballast water from a public or commercial source in Canada or the United States, into waters under Canadian jurisdiction or on the high seas if it has not been mixed with other ballast water, including residual amounts, or with sediments.

Regulation B-4 of the Annex — Ballast Water Exchange

Marginal note:Areas for exchange

• 14 (1) A vessel that enters waters under Canadian jurisdiction from waters other than the United States’ waters of the Great Lakes Basin and that conducts ballast water management to meet the ballast water exchange standard must conduct the exchange

  • (a) in an area that is at least 200 nautical miles from the nearest land and where water depth is at least 2 000 m;

  • (b) in an area described in, and in accordance with, regulation B-4.1 of the Annex, if the vessel cannot meet the requirements of paragraph (a); or

  • (c) in one of the alternate ballast water exchange areas designated by the Minister in TP 13617, if the vessel cannot meet the requirements of paragraph (a) or (b).

• Marginal note:Record keeping

  (2) The master of a vessel that does not comply with subsection (1) must enter the reasons in the ballast water record book.

Regulation C-1 of the Annex — Additional Measures

Releases in Canadian Fresh Waters

Marginal note:Exchange requirement

• 15 (1) In addition to meeting the requirements of the Convention, a vessel that conducts ballast water management to meet the ballast water performance standard must not release ballast water in Canadian fresh waters described in TP 13617 unless that ballast water was first exchanged in accordance with the ballast water exchange standard

  • (a) in an area, and in the manner, described in subsection 14(1), if the sequential method — as described in the 2017 Guidelines for ballast water exchange (G6), published by the International Maritime Organization — was used; or

  • (b) on the high seas, in any other case.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the ballast water to be released was taken on board in waters under Canadian jurisdiction, in the United States’ waters of the Great Lakes Basin or in waters in an area described in subsection 14(1) and has not been mixed with residual amounts taken elsewhere than from those waters.

• Marginal note:Exception — extraordinary conditions

  (3) A vessel is not required to exchange ballast water in accordance with subsection (1) if the master determines, on reasonable grounds, that the exchange would threaten the safety or stability of the vessel, its crew or its passengers because of adverse weather, vessel design or stress, equipment failure or any other extraordinary conditions.

• Marginal note:Record keeping

  (4) The master of a vessel that does not comply with subsection (1) must enter the reasons in the ballast water record book.

Saltwater Flushing

Marginal note:Residual amounts

• 16 (1) In addition to meeting the requirements of the Convention, a vessel that conducts ballast water management to meet the ballast water exchange standard must conduct a saltwater flushing of tanks that contain only residual amounts unless those residual amounts were taken on board in accordance with the ballast water exchange standard and subsection 14(1).

• Marginal note:Saltwater flushing

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), saltwater flushing consists of the following measures undertaken in the following order:

  • (a) the addition of water to the ballast tanks in accordance with the requirements for ballast water exchange set out in subsection 14(1);

  • (b) the mixing, through the motion of the vessel, of the water added under paragraph (a) with the residual amounts and any sediments that have settled in the tanks; and

  • (c) the release, in accordance with the requirements for ballast water exchange set out in subsection 14(1), of the waters mixed under paragraph (b) so that the salinity of the resulting residual amounts in the tanks exceeds 30 parts per thousand or is as close as possible to 30 parts per thousand.

Regulation D-3 of the Annex — Ballast Water Management Systems

Marginal note:Minister’s approval

17 Any ballast water management system used on a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft must be approved by the Minister in accordance with regulation D-3 of the Annex.

Marginal note:Type Approval Certificate

18 A vessel must keep on board a copy of the Type Approval Certificate issued in respect of a ballast water management system installed on the vessel that evidences the system’s approval under regulation D-3 of the Annex.

Regulation D-4 of the Annex — Prototype Ballast Water Treatment Technologies

Marginal note:Statement of Compliance

19 A vessel that is participating in one of the programs referred to in regulation D-4 of the Annex must hold and keep on board a valid Statement of Compliance referred to in the Guidelines for approval and oversight of prototype ballast water treatment technology programmes (G10), published by the International Maritime Organization.

Section E of the Annex — Inspection and Certification Requirements

Certificates

Marginal note:IBWM Certificate

20 Every vessel to which regulation E-1 of the Annex applies must hold and keep on board a valid IBWM Certificate.

Regulation E-2 — Issuance of IBWM Certificate

Marginal note:Issuance of certificate

21 On application by the authorized representative of a Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft, the Minister must issue an IBWM Certificate to the vessel or pleasure craft if the requirements of an initial or renewal inspection set out in section E of the Annex are met.

Marginal note:Endorsements

22 A Canadian vessel or a Canadian pleasure craft that holds an IBWM Certificate must ensure that the certificate is endorsed by the Minister as required by section E of the Annex.

Vessels of Non-Parties to the Convention

Marginal note:Equivalent document

23 A vessel that is entitled to fly the flag of a state that is not a party to the Convention must not take on board or release ballast water in waters under Canadian jurisdiction unless that vessel holds and keeps on board a document issued by or on behalf of the government of that state that certifies that the vessel meets the requirements of the Convention.

Reporting

Marginal note:Canadian Ballast Water Reporting Form

24 The master of a vessel that is bound for a port, offshore terminal or anchorage area in Canada must, in the manner specified by the Minister, submit a completed Canadian Ballast Water Reporting Form to the Minister.

Consequential Amendments, Repeal and Coming into Force

Consequential Amendments

Administrative Monetary Penalties and Notices (CSA 2001) Regulations

25 [Amendments]

Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations

26 [Amendments]

Repeal

27 The Ballast Water Control and Management RegulationsFootnote ³ are repealed.

• Return to footnote ³SOR/2011-237

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Registration

28 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.