IMO established a Ballast Water Convention in February 2004. The convention requires all new vessels with a ballast water capacity of less than 5000 m³ built from 2009 and onwards to have ballast water treatment installed. For larger vessels the time table is from 2012. For existing vessels there is a timeframe from 2009 to 2016, when ballast water exchange is an acceptable solution, but after that, treatment is necessary on all vessels.
The convention is currently awaiting ratification and 30 countires, representing 35 per cent of the world fleet, need to ratify the convention before it will come into force one year after the ratification date. There is a strong belief within the industry that the convention will be ratified by July 2011.