Biofouling Management Plan Template
DOWNLOAD the TEMPLATE to support recordkeeping for the International Maritime Organization’s Guidelines (IMO Guidelines) for the Control and Management of Ships’ Biofouling to Minimize the Transfer of Invasive Aquatic Species
Developed and published by the council’s Antifouling Coatings Committee in partnership with the Institute of Marine Science, Engineering and Technology (IMarEST) and presented at the 70th meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee. The guidelines were adopted under resolution MEPC.207 (62) in July 2011, to provide a globally consistent approach to the management of biofouling on ships.
The IMO Guidelines provide recommendations on general measures ship owners and operators should consider for reducing the risk of transfer of biofouling on ships. They not only address issues such as the proper use of fouling control paint for the various parts of the ship, but also to discuss other aspects of biofouling management, such as ship design, dry dock maintenance, recycling, and crew training.
The IMO Guidelines direct owners and operators to develop plans for managing biofouling for each individual ship, and to use of a “biofouling record book” to document the various management procedures taken throughout the lifespan of the ship. While the previous IMO guidance provided detailed information on fouling control practices, no formal template was provided for recordkeeping. The council and IMarEST developed this template in order to enable users to easily record all relevant information prescribed in the IMO Guidelines, with particular attention to antifouling (and other marine and protective) coatings.
The template supports:
- The choice of anti-fouling system (AFS) for the external hull with a check list system to inform this choice;
- Selection of AFS for niche areas where hydrodynamic conditions may differ from those found on the external hull; and
- Planned management actions to be completed between planned dry-dockings to minimize the biofouling on the hull
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is ultimately the ship owner or operator’s decision to have and to maintain a biofouling management plan and biofouling record book on-board their ship. This template is being provided to the marine committee to assist it in achieving that requirement.