The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments - a key international measure for environmental protection that aims to stop the spread of potentially invasive aquatic species in ships’ ballast water entered into force on 8 September 2017.

The convention requires ships to manage their ballast water to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments. For the ship's personnel the main questions are: what do we need to know about it and how is it going to affect ship’s operational routine?