33 CFR 151.2075: Ballast water enforcement and compliance

Last reviewed: October 14, 2026

This section covers how compliance with ballast water requirements is checked. The master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge of a vessel must give the Captain of the Port access and, on request, records. Every vessel must have a sampling port at each overboard discharge point, and multiple responsible entities are jointly liable.

Applies toThe master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge of a vessel subject to this subpart, and every vessel for the sampling port requirement.

What it says

  1. The master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge of a vessel must give the Captain of the Port (COTP) access to the vessel to take samples of ballast water and sediment, examine documents, and make other appropriate inquiries to assess compliance.

    33 CFR 151.2075(a)“must provide the Captain of the Port (COTP) with access to the vessel in order to take samples of ballast water and sediment, examine documents, and make other appropriate inquiries”

  2. The master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge of a vessel subject to this section must provide the records to the COTP upon request, as required by § 151.2070 of this subpart.

    33 CFR 151.2075(b)“must provide the records to the COTP upon request, as required by § 151.2070 of this subpart.”

  3. Vessels with installed ballast water management systems are subject to Coast Guard inspection.

    33 CFR 151.2075(c)“Vessels with installed ballast water management systems are subject to Coast Guard inspection.”

  4. Every vessel must have a sampling port(s) at each overboard discharge point, designed and installed in accordance with 46 CFR 162.060-28(f) and (f)(2).

    33 CFR 151.2075(c)“Every vessel must have a sampling port(s) designed and installed in accordance with 46 CFR 162.060-28(f) and (f)(2) at each overboard discharge point.”

  5. In this subpart, wherever multiple entities are responsible for compliance with a requirement of the rule, each entity is jointly liable for a violation of that requirement.

    33 CFR 151.2075(d)“wherever multiple entities are responsible for compliance with any requirement of the rule, each entity is jointly liable for a violation of such requirement.”

Common questions

What access must a vessel give the Captain of the Port for ballast water checks?

The master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge must give the COTP access to take samples of ballast water and sediment, examine documents, and make other appropriate inquiries.

“must provide the Captain of the Port (COTP) with access to the vessel in order to take samples of ballast water and sediment, examine documents, and make other appropriate inquiries”

Do vessels need ballast water sampling ports?

Yes. Every vessel must have a sampling port(s) at each overboard discharge point, designed and installed in accordance with 46 CFR 162.060-28(f) and (f)(2).

“Every vessel must have a sampling port(s) designed and installed in accordance with 46 CFR 162.060-28(f) and (f)(2) at each overboard discharge point.”

Who is liable if several parties are responsible for a ballast water requirement?

Each entity is jointly liable for a violation of that requirement.

“wherever multiple entities are responsible for compliance with any requirement of the rule, each entity is jointly liable for a violation of such requirement.”

The text of 33 CFR 151.2075

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), current as of April 16, 2026 · Read it on eCFR

Enforcement and compliance

(a) The master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge of a vessel must provide the Captain of the Port (COTP) with access to the vessel in order to take samples of ballast water and sediment, examine documents, and make other appropriate inquiries to assess the compliance of any vessel subject to this subpart.

(b) The master, owner, operator, agent, or person in charge of a vessel subject to this section must provide the records to the COTP upon request, as required by § 151.2070 of this subpart.

(c) Vessels with installed ballast water management systems are subject to Coast Guard inspection. Every vessel must have a sampling port(s) designed and installed in accordance with 46 CFR 162.060-28(f) and (f)(2) at each overboard discharge point.

(d) In this subpart, wherever multiple entities are responsible for compliance with any requirement of the rule, each entity is jointly liable for a violation of such requirement.

Sections it refers to

The plain-English explanation on this page was written with AI from the regulation text above and checked automatically before publishing: every quote appears in the text, every number comes from it, and a second model confirmed each statement adds nothing the text doesn't say. Regulation text current as of April 16, 2026. The regulation text governs. RegKnot is not affiliated with the U.S. Coast Guard.