Swedish Club has advised members of an ordinance issued by the Coast Guard Authorities of La Plata Station in Argentina that there will be an increase in inspections of foreign vessels in relation to ballast water while they are anchored or awaiting pilots at Zona Comun (the anchorage area located off La Plata Port).
The Coast Guard is now obliging all vessels bound for River Plate to change all ballast water at sea, prior to entering the waterway and its pollution prohibition zone. The Coast Guard has also said that, whenever possible, the ballast tanks should be cleaned to remove all sediment.
The ballast exchange operation must be inserted in the Log Book, including the geographical position when the exchange was implemented. The Coast Guard said that it would analyze the ballast water on arrival, which would need to have a salinity of at least 30 parts per million. A vessel would not be permitted to discharge ballast if the water ballast had not been properly changed, the Coast Guard said.
Vessels not conforming to the Ordinance would be fined before departure. http://www.swedishclub.com/main.php?mcid=1&mid=109&pid=19&newsid=1965