A ballast treatment equipment was installed on "Professor Aziz Aliyev," "Ganja," and "General Aslanov," managed by the Marine Transportation Fleet of the "Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company," CJSC (ASCO).
Report informs, citing the CJSC, that the installation of the above-mentioned equipment on vessels is carried out in accordance with the D2 standard of the "Ballast Water Management Convention," adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2017.
According to the requirements of the IMO, it is necessary to have this system on every ship built after the date of adoption of the Convention and sailing in international waters. The system must be installed on vessels built before the mentioned date by 2024.
At the moment, 10 ASCO vessels—"President Heydar Aliyev," "Zarifa Aliyeva," "Azerbaijan," "Shusha," "Gafur Mammadov," "Rasul Rza," "Shair Sabir," "Shair Vagif," "Kalbajar," and "Lachin"—are already equipped with this system.
The loading of ballast water, which has not been purified from sea creatures, and its transportation and discharge in another marine environment pose a great threat to the environment, human health, and economy.