ATTENTION REPORTING VESSELS: Guidance for vessels engaged in coastwise transits (witihin 200 NM of shore) between US ports and places
DATA NOW AVAILABLE: The National Ballast Information Clearinghouse has updated its online database and web utilities. Data from 2004 through 2008
are now available for online queries with graphical and tabular output. Regular updates to follow. Please see our News section for further details.
DATA NOW AVAILABLE: The National Ballast Information Clearinghouse has updated its online database and web utilities. Data from 2004 through 2008
are now available for online queries with graphical and tabular output. Regular updates to follow. Please see our News section for further details.
The National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (NBIC) is a joint program of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the United States Coast Guard that collects, analyzes, and interprets data on the ballast water management practices of commercial ships that operate in the waters of the United States. The principal aims of NBIC are to quantify the amounts and origins of ballast water discharged in US coastal systems and to determine the degree to which such water has undergone open-ocean exchange or alternative treatments designed to reduce the likelihood of ballast-mediated invasions by exotic species. NBIC was established in 1997 at the direction of the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 (NISA). Ballast water data are available for download from our online database.
Key Contacts:
NBIC Program: nbic@ballastreport.org or (443) 482-2339
US Coast Guard Activities and Regulatory Requirements: (202) 372-1402