PCG: The 4th Ballast Water Management (BWM) Training Course will be hosted by the Philippine Coast Guard on the in anticipation of the ratification of the BWM Convention 2004.

The course will be conducted by the Office of the Deputy Chief of Coast Guard Staff for Marine Environmental Protection (CG-9), and the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Maritime Safety Services (CG-8) with 42 Maritime Safety Administration (MARSAD) students and six Coast Guard Education and Training Command (CGETC) staff participants. 

The BWM Training Course aims to equip the participants with relevant information and appropriate inspection system in the compliance, monitoring and enforcement of the BWM Convention 2004. 

When entered into force, the BWM Convention 2004 will address the global concerns on the escalating marine environmental threats.

BWM 2004 also puts emphasis on the responsibilities of Port State as the complementary and secondary layer in ensuring safer and secure shipping to prevent, minimize and ultimately eliminate the transfer of harmful aquatic organism and pathogens through the control and management of ship’s ballast water and sediments.  Further, State Parties must undertake to give full and complete effect to the provisions of the BWM Convention, specifically on the mechanism to monitor compliance with a system and to provide for its enforcement.

Part of the training course is a site visit to the University of the Philippines- Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) for ballast water sampling methodology exposure for a more comprehensive awareness on the whole process and the technical aspect of the Ballast Water Management Convention 2004.

The training facilitators and lecturers for the said training course are CAPT ROMMEL A SUPANGAN PCG, Executive Officer of AE-891 and CAPT ROBEN N DE GUZMAN PCG, Deputy Chief of Staff for MEP, CG-9. Both officers have attended the National Workshop on the Steps towards Ratification of the BWM Convention with Emphasis on the Legal Framework and the Regional Training Course on Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement of the BWM Convention in the ASEAN Region as sponsored by IMO at Hotel H2O, Manila 0n 14-15 October and 16-18 October 2013 respectively.