Regulation 4: Exceptions
1 This Annex shall not apply to:
a the discharge of ballast water necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of a ship or saving life at sea; or
b the discharge of ballast water resulting from damage to a ship or its equipment:
i provided that all reasonable precautions have been taken before and after the occurrence of the damage or discovery of the discharge for the purpose of preventing or minimizing the discharge; and
ii except if the owner or the Master acted either recklessly or with intent to cause damage;
c the discharge of ballast water when being used for the purpose of combating specific pollution incidents in order to minimize the damage from pollution. Any such discharge shall be subject to the approval of any Government in whose jurisdiction it is contemplated the discharge will occur;
d [discharge of ballast water from floating offshore installations at a position where the ballast had been taken.]
2 Any port State may exempt any ship from compliance with all or part of these regulations in an area under its jurisdiction.
Regulation 5: Operational requirements
1 The uptake, management, treatment and discharge of ballast water and associated sediments shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions and options set out in the guidelines.
2 In the case that measures referred to in paragraph 1 cannot be complied with due to weather and sea conditions or operational impracticality, the ship's master shall report this fact to the Port State Authority as early as possible prior to entering the port, so that alternative action and appropriate control measures can be taken without undue delay.
Regulation 6: Safety requirements
(To be developed, taking into account the outcome of work carried out on this matter by the SLF and DE Sub-Committees)
Regulation 7: Recording and Certification
1 A Ballast Water Management Plan shall be developed for each ship to which these regulations apply and kept on board.
2 Equipment necessary for the effective operation of ballast water management measures shall be subject to an initial survey carried out by the flag State. A form of approval shall be issued if the Ballast
