A gestão da água de lastro e o transporte de cabotagem no Brasil: uma proposta de alteração da NORMAM 20

Abstract

Ballast water from vessels is considered a global environmental problem since it transports a vast amount of species from one point of the globe to another. This transport and consequent introduction of species to foreigners causes an irreparable imbalance in the marine environment. In Brazil, for the sake of the inappropriate management of ballast water from long-distance navigation, exotic species have already been tested in our coastal zone. However, the problem is not restricted to this point. Due to its continental dimensions, native species from different areas of the Brazilian coast can become harmful to the new ecosystem in which they were inserted. And it is precisely at this point the object of the study. Due to the Law nº 14.301/2022 was enacted in Brazil, which seeks to encourage cabotage navigation in the country, which will cause a noticeable increase in vessels on the Brazilian coast. In this sense, if it is the ballast water used in these vessels, there is a concern regarding the dispersion of this water, since the most specific Brazilian standard on the subject, NORMAM 20, mistakenly deals with the treatment of water management ballast of vessels that travel exclusively within Brazilian jurisdictional waters, which includes cabotage navigation. Thus, the present work aims to analyze the legal treatment given to the management of ballast water in the international and national context, mainly concerning NORMAM 20 in the face of the new context of encouraging cabotage navigation in Brazil, in order to bring a proposal for updating of the said standard