The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) exists to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens carried in ballast water from one region to another — a genuine and well-documented ecological problem historically caused by ships taking on ballast in one port and discharging it, along with whatever organisms it contains, in a completely different ecosystem.

The Convention entered into force in 2017 and now applies broadly across the international merchant fleet, requiring ships to manage their ballast water according to one of two standards, moving over time from an interim exchange-based approach toward mandatory treatment.