Pollution of the sea and marine environment by ballast water in international law with special reference to the Republic of Croatia

Onečišćenje mora i morskog okoliša vodenim balastom spada u grupu onečišćenja čije je izvorište na brodovima. S obzirom da su s jedne strane unos i ispuštanje balastne vode ključne radnje stabilnosti broda i njegove sigurne plovidbe morima, a s druge strane balastne vode predstavljaju jednu od najvećih prijetnji domaćim ekosustavima i domicilnim morskim vrstama i organizmima postavlja se pitanje kako pravno urediti pitanje njezine izmjene da obje strane budu zadovoljene. Ispuštanjem balastne vode u luci odredišta u obalno se more ispuštaju strani morski organizmi koji svojim brzim razmnožavanjem narušavaju prirodni ekosustav te mogu prouzročiti pomor domaćih morskih vrsta. Kako bi se takvi scenariji što manje događali Međunarodna je pomorska organizacija od devedesetih godina 20. stoljeća krenula s donošenjem velikog broja smjernica čija je svrha bila sprječavanje unosa stranih morskih organizama regulacijom njezine izmjene na otvorenom moru. Te su smjernice bile preteča najvažnije međunarodne konvencije usvojene 2004. godine koja se isključivo bavi navedenom problematikom - Međunarodne konvencije o nadzoru i upravljanju brodskim balastnim vodama i talozima. Republika Hrvatska kao država potpisnica navedene Konvencije dužna je donositi nacionalne zakone, strategiju i druge programe upravljanja balastnim vodama u svrhu zaštite Jadranskog mora od stranih invazivnih vrsta. Jadransko more kao pliće obalno more u velikoj je opasnosti od onečišćenja putem balastnih voda stoga Republika Hrvatska mora poduzeti sve moguće korake i aktivnosti radi očuvanja njegove bioraznolikosti i prirodnog okoliša te domaćih morskih vrsta i podvrsta.Pollution of the sea and the marine environment with ballast water belongs to the group of pollution whose source is on ships. On the one hand, ballast water intake and discharge are key actions for the ship's stability and safe navigation and on the other hand, ballast water poses one of the greatest threats to domestic ecosystems and domicile marine species and organisms, the question arises - how to regulate the issue of its amendment so that both parties are satisfied. By discharging ballast water into the destination port, foreign marine organisms are released into the coastal sea, which, through their rapid reproduction, disrupt the natural ecosystem and can cause the death of native marine species. In order to minimize such scenarios, the International Maritime Organization has been adopting a number of guidelines since the 1990s to prevent the introduction of foreign marine organisms by regulating its modification on the high seas. These guidelines were the predecessors of the most important international convention adopted in 2004, which deals exclusively with this issue - the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments. As a state party to the said Convention, Republic of Croatia is obliged to adopt national laws, strategies and other ballast water management programs for the purpose of protecting the Adriatic Sea from invasive alien species. The Adriatic Sea is a shallow coastal sea, and therefore is in great danger of pollution through ballast water, so the Republic of Croatia must take all possible steps and activities to preserve its biodiversity and natural environment and domestic marine species and subspecies