The 10th meeting of the IMO Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention & Response has completed its review of the 2011 Guidelines for the Control and Management of Ships’ Biofouling to Minimize the Transfer of Invasive Aquatic Species with new guidance to ships on how to best manage biofouling including through performance monitoring, inspection frequencies and in-water cleaning- either proactive or reactive. The updated guidelines are directed to various stakeholders, including ship owners and ship operators but also ship designers, shipbuilders, anti-fouling paint manufacturers and suppliers, shipmasters, port authorities, ship cleaning and maintenance operators, inspection organizations, ship repair, dry-docking and recycling facilities. IMO is working with stakeholders to develop a global standard for in-water cleaning with capture and the approval process. The new guidelines are expected to be approved at the Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in June 2023.
