9.4 OPERATION OF THE VICTORIAN BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

In order to implement and administer the Victorian Ballast Water Management System, ships will be required to follow an operational system. The Committee has developed a model for ballast water management in Victoria to illustrate the sorts of procedures which may need to be incorporated as part of the Ballast Water Management System. The Committee emphasises that this model is an example only, and is not intended to be prescriptive. Key procedures might include:

· Upon departure from port and prior to arrival in a Victorian port, vessels are sent, via ship agents, a copy of the Victorian Ballast Water Management System and required to complete a Ballast Water Risk Assessment Form. This Form is then sent to the ship's agent who forwards it to the EPA. In cases where the master acts as agent for the vessel the EPA would communicate directly with the master.

· If the vessel does not intend to discharge ballast, the EPA informs the harbour master who instructs the vessel to continue with normal operations.

· If the vessel intends to discharge ballast, the EPA undertakes an assessment of the risk posed by the vessel of exotic organism transfer. The assessment would be made on the basis of information provided by the vessel and a database of other information including port environmental characteristics, target species information and the vessel's reliability and history of compliance and non-compliance. The Committee notes that if a ship has not exchanged its ballast en route from its port of origin, it is likely to be considered a "high risk" and further assessment will be required.

· If the vessel is assessed as "low risk" the EPA informs the harbour master who instructs the vessel to continue with normal operations.

· If the vessel is assessed as "high risk" the EPA informs the harbour master that no discharge is permitted, the harbour master then instructs the vessel not to discharge ballast until remedial action -various options for management as defined in the Ballast Water Management System -is undertaken.

· The harbour master then informs the EPA of remedial actions, the EPA approves normal operations and the harbour master advises the ship that normal operations can proceed.

The Committee has devised a flow chart to illustrate the operational system for the Victorian Ballast Management System (Figure 12).

As discussed in Chapter 5, the harbour master of each Victorian port has the authority to instruct vessels not to discharge ballast water. The Committee recognises that in order not to compromise the role of ports as commercial operators, it must be made clear to industry and individual vessels that any decisions regarding the discharge of ballast water are made by the Environment Protection Authority as the regulatory body for the Victorian Ballast Water Management System.