The cadets' understanding of the ballast water management convention

Abstract

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) since September 8, 2017, has implemented the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention as an effort to protect the maritime environment from ballast water pollution. The ballast water is water used by ships to maintain stability when the ship is unloaded to sail safely. This study aims to determine to what extent the understanding of PIP Semarang cadets in the 7th and 8th semesters of Post Sea Project to the BWM Convention. The research method used is an analytic description with a cross-sectional approach using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The sample consisted of 49 cadets majoring in the Deck and Engine departments. The study results indicated that most of the respondents do not understand the BWM Convention correctly. On the question of when BWM was enacted, the correct answer was 2.04%. On the question of when Indonesia ratified the BWM, the correct answer was 0%. On the question of how the implementation of BWM for the D-1 standard (ballast exchange) was 2.04% and the D-2 standard (ballast treatment) is 4.08%. However, on the question about the importance of handling ballast water 34.69% answered correctly, which means that they know the dangers of ballast water and it is very important to handle it so as not to impact health and environment. The suggestion is to disseminate the information to cadets through seminars, including marine pollution courses or special training on ballast water.