Tokyo MoU shares preliminary results from CIC on Ballast Water Management

March 21 ------ Tokyo MoU has issued the preliminary results from the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on aspects of the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM) 2004, conducted jointly with the Paris MoU between 1 September and 30 November 2025.

The campaign included relevant questions pertaining to the mandatory provisions of the BWM. The campaign involved the member Authorities of the Tokyo MOU that have ratified the BWM. This CIC was conducted under the campaign coordination of the Administration of Singapore. As informed, the campaign shows the following preliminary results:

Inspection overview

Over the course of the CIC period, involving all types of ships, a total of 9,244 inspections were carried out. Of these inspections, 6,930 (74.96%) inspections were performed using the CIC questionnaire and a ship was subjected to only one CIC inspection during the campaign period.

During the period, 184 ships where CIC was carried out were detained in total (2.66% detention rate). Of which, 30 detentions were the result of inspections with CIC questionnaires, which were detained as a direct result of the CIC concerning deficiencies, reflecting a CIC topic related detention rate of 0.43%.

Deficiencies identified

The most common deficiencies (and deficiencies that resulted in a detention) found during the campaign were associated with under the deficiency code 14811 (Q6 – Is the BWMS operational?) underscoring the fact that the operation and maintenance of BWMS onboard remains a critical area for the effective implementation of the intent of the Convention.

RiSK4SEA also identified code 14811 as having multiple deficiencies during the CIC, totaling 462. Of these, 51 were detainable deficiencies, while 411 were non-detainable deficiencies. Out of all the codes, it was the code with the most detainable deficiencies.

Furthermore, the Black Sea MoU shared in its preliminary results of CIC on Ballast Water Management that BWMS operability emerged as the most significant area of concern, accounting for the highest number of non-conformities and the largest share of CIC related detentions.

Flag state inspection distribution

During the campaign, vessels registered under the flags of 94 different States were inspected under the CIC scope. The greatest number of CIC inspections were carried out on ships flying the flags of Panama with 1,983 inspections (28.61%), Liberia with 958 inspections (13.82%) and the Marshall Islands with 683 inspections (9.86%).

Deficiency ratios by flag state

The highest absolute number of CIC-related deficiencies was recorded on ships flagged to Panama (475), Liberia (234) and Marshall Islands (168). This reflects the high inspection exposure of these flag States during the campaign. When normalized against the number of inspections conducted with a CIC questionnaire, the corresponding deficiency ratios were 23.95%, 24.42% and 24.59%, respectively.

Detentions by ship risk category and type

Most ships with CIC-topic related deficiencies marked as grounds for detention were in the High Risk category (26/30), or 86.6% of all detentions. By ship type, General Cargo/multipurpose ships accounted for 43.33% of all CIC-topic detentions (13 detentions), followed by bulk carriers (4), oil tankers (5), gas carriers (3), oil/chemical tankers (3), and container ships and ships engaged in other special activities (1 each).

Ship age and detention correlation

Ship age did show a correlation with CIC-topic detention rate. Most of the detentions were recorded for ships aged between 19–24 years of age. The majority of flag States associated with CIC-topic detentions were listed on the Tokyo MOU High Performance List.

Source: safety4sea.com