Document per port call
Can keep, per port call, the ballast information the ship declared and the documents presented, with date and responsible party.
Deliverable: ballast history per port callOcto for ballast water
Ballast travels with the ship. Octo helps keep the document for each port call.
The current rule published by the Directorate of Ports and Coasts is NORMAM-401, approved by Ordinance 476 of June 3, 2026, which covers ballast water management in Chapter 2. In port practice, NORMAM-20 is still cited. Ballast inspection, sampling and citations belong to the Maritime Authority, through the Harbor Master's Office; the port authority also requires the information; and Anvisa handles health control in ports and on vessels, under RDC 72/2009. Octo can help the port and agent teams keep the ballast documents for each port call.
NORMAM-401Ch. 2DPC Ordinance 476, of June 3, 2026
D-2 standardSep 8, 2024mandatory since that date
Record book2 + 3 yearson board and with the shipowner
Sources7listed at the end of the page
01
What Octo does with ballast water.
Four possible deliverables. Ballast inspection, sampling and citations belong to the Maritime Authority, through the Harbor Master's Office.
Port call without a document
Can alert the team when a port call arrives without the ballast information or without the expected certificate, before berthing.
Deliverable: list of outstanding items per port callSediments received
For a port that receives sediments from ballast tanks, can record the receipt and disposal of each batch.
Deliverable: record of receipt and disposalRegulation tracked
Can follow the Directorate of Ports and Coasts rules page and alert the team when NORMAM-401 changes.
Deliverable: notice of what changed
02
Eight arms, one port call history.
The same Octo cycle, applied to this topic. Each arm has a narrow role; the people who approve and sign are on your team.
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Discovery
Reads the current routine
What ballast information the port asks for, from whom, when, and where it is kept.
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Data
Organizes by port call
Each port call with its ballast information and the documents presented. Without that, the outstanding item shows up at inspection time.
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Security
Respects the document
Ship and agent documents stay in the environment the team approves.
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Architecture
Picks the format
Spreadsheet, database or dashboard, matching how the team already works.
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Development
Builds the history
Port calls, documents, outstanding items and sediments received.
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Review
Checks with the person in charge
The port team reviews the history before it takes effect.
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Release
Delivers with your OK
The history goes wherever the team says.
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Documentation
Records the version
Which revision of NORMAM-401 was used, and when.
Octo does not inspect ships, collect samples or issue citations. Ballast inspection, sampling and citations belong to the Maritime Authority, through the Harbor Master's Office; the port's requirements remain with the port authority; and health control of ports and vessels belongs to Anvisa, under RDC 72/2009.
03
Each role, its basis.
Who acts on ballast and on what basis. Where the basis is port practice, the table says so.
| Who | Basis | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Harbor Master's Office, agent of the Maritime Authority | NORMAM-401, 2.6 | Inspects documents, the information form, certificate and record book; may collect samples; issues the citation |
| Directorate of Ports and Coasts | NORMAM-401, 2.1.3 and 2.6 | Issues the Exemption Certificate (CISEN); the director rules on fine appeals as the last instance |
| Classification society or flag | NORMAM-401, 2.2.1 | Approves the ship's plan and certificate |
| Ship | NORMAM-401, 2.2.1 | Management plan, international certificate and record book on board |
| Port authority | Port practice | Also requires the ballast information; receives sediments where there is a facility |
| Anvisa | RDC 72/2009 and amendments | Health control in health-control ports and on vessels |
04
From request to routine.
Three steps. Each one only makes sense once the previous one has shown results on your team.
A proposal, not a promise
Ballast history
Octo gathers the ballast information the port already receives, port call by port call.
- Document per port call
- Responsible party and date
Outstanding item before berthing
Missing documents now show up before the ship berths.
- List of outstanding items per port call
- Alert to the agent
Regulation tracked
Changes to NORMAM-401 are now flagged.
- Notice of what changed
- Routine adjusted by the team
05
Confirmed by source.
Each point below has a source published by the agency responsible for the standard or the system, or by the IMO. The sources are in the next section.
11
points with a published source, each with its reference alongside.
- ConfirmedThe standard in force
- On the Maritime Authority rules page, the environment group lists NORMAM-401/DPC, on preventing environmental pollution caused by vessels and platforms, approved by DPC/DGN/MB Ordinance 476 of June 3, 2026, which revoked Ordinance 193/2025. Ballast water management is in Chapter 2 of this rule, in its 3rd revision.Source: Brazilian Navy, DPC: Maritime Authority rules and Ordinance 476/2026; NORMAM-401
- ConfirmedThe convention
- Brazil promulgated the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments by Decree 10.980/2022. According to ANTAQ, the core of the convention is preventing the effects of the spread of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through ballast water.Source: Chamber of Deputies, Decree 10.980/2022; ANTAQ, international conventions
- ConfirmedWho it applies to
- Chapter 2 applies to Brazilian or foreign vessels with ballast tanks sailing in Brazilian jurisdictional waters, with exceptions such as warships, sport and recreational craft up to 50 m and 8 m³ of ballast, and sealed tanks with permanent ballast.Source: NORMAM-401, item 2.1.1, p. 2-1
- ConfirmedTreatment is the rule
- Since September 8, 2024, every vessel subject to the convention must meet the D-2 treatment standard, unless it holds a DPC Exemption Certificate or is in a contingency. Ocean exchange, where applicable, is done at least 200 nautical miles from land and in water at least 200 m deep; if that is not possible, never less than 50 nautical miles.Source: NORMAM-401, item 2.3.1, pp. 2-6 and 2-7
- ConfirmedProhibited areas
- Discharging ballast water is prohibited in ecologically sensitive areas, conservation units and other precautionary areas set by environmental or health agencies, when plotted on a nautical chart.Source: NORMAM-401, item 2.3.1, subitem h, p. 2-7
- ConfirmedDocuments on board
- The ship keeps the ballast water management plan, the international certificate (for 400 gross tonnage or more, with exceptions) and the record book, which may be electronic. Entries stay on board for 2 years and then with the shipowner for 3 years.Source: NORMAM-401, item 2.2.1, pp. 2-4 and 2-5
- ConfirmedInformation on entry
- NORMAM-401 does not create a form of its own: the ballast information goes in the Information Form of the General Declaration of Entry or in the Notice of Entry, annexes to NORMAM-204. Inspection checks whether the form was filled in correctly.Source: NORMAM-401, items 2.2.1, subitem d, and 2.6.1, pp. 2-5 and 2-10
- ConfirmedSediments and the port
- Dumping sediments from ballast tanks in Brazilian jurisdictional waters is prohibited. Disposal is done at ports and terminals with adequate reception facilities, or with the ship in dry dock, without harm to the environment or health.Source: NORMAM-401, item 2.4, p. 2-9
- ConfirmedInspection and penalties
- The agent of the Maritime Authority inspects documents, the information form, certificate and record book, may collect water samples from the tanks and may issue a warning, detain the ship or bar entry to the port. Sanctions follow Law 9.605/1998 and Decree 6.514/2008.Source: NORMAM-401, items 2.6.1 to 2.6.7, pp. 2-10 to 2-15
- ConfirmedIMO guidelines
- The IMO maintains guidelines for the convention, among them those for the management plan (G4), sediment reception facilities (G5), exchange (G6) and system approval (G8), and has amended the record book model and the use of electronic record books.Source: IMO, BWM Convention and Guidelines
- ConfirmedHealth control
- Anvisa applies RDC 72 of December 29, 2009, and its amendments, regarding health conditions, in health-control ports and on the vessels that pass through them.Source: Anvisa, infrastructure health control (page updated September 4, 2026)
06
What Octo does and what stays with you.
Octo prepares everything, but does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Octo prepares
Gathers, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: spreadsheets, histories per port call, reports and drafts.
Deliverable: material ready for reviewYour team reviews
The licensed professional reviews what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by whoever signsWho signs
Octo does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT, accountability reports and any official document are still signed by the licensed professional of the company or agency: here, the professional of record and the port authority; inspection and citations remain with the Maritime Authority.
Signature: professional of record and port authority
07
Sources.
Maritime Authority rules published by the Brazilian Navy, Decree 10.980/2022 at the Chamber of Deputies, and pages from ANTAQ, the IMO and Anvisa. Accessed October 31, 2026.
- Brazilian Navy, DPC: Maritime Authority rulesNORMAM-401/DPC in the environment group
- Brazilian Navy, DPC: Ordinance 476/2026Approves NORMAM-401, June 3, 2026
- Brazilian Navy, DPC: NORMAM-401 (PDF)Chapter 2, ballast water management
- Chamber of Deputies: Decree 10.980/2022Promulgates the Ballast Water Convention
- ANTAQ: international conventionsPurpose of the convention
- IMO: BWM Convention and GuidelinesGuidelines G4 to G8 and record book
- Anvisa: infrastructure health controlRDC 72/2009 and amendments in ports and vessels
Each port call with its document.
The assessment starts with the ballast information your port already receives, without changing anything. You get a proposal for what can be organized and decide with it in hand.