China and South Korea have signed an agreement to enforce the IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention, whose two-year grace period will come to an end in early September.

According to the Chinese transport ministry’s Maritime Safety Administration (MSA), the memorandum of understanding is about waiving the requirement in exchanging ballast water for vessels engaged in China-South Korean trades.

“China and South Korea are neighbouring countries and there are buoyant trades among us,” the government agency said on its website.