Artikel B-2

1 Each ship shall have on board a Ballast Water Record Book, that may be an electronic record book, or that may be integrated into another record book or system, and which shall at least contain the information specified in appendix II. Electronic record books shall be approved by the Administration taking into account the guidelines developed by the Organization.
2. Ballast Water record book entries shall be maintained on board the ship for a minimum period of two years after the last entry has been made and thereafter in the Company's control for a minimum period of three years.
3. In the event of the discharge of Ballast Water pursuant to regulations A-3, A-4 or B-3.6 or in the event of other accidental or exceptional discharge of Ballast Water not otherwise exempted by this Convention, an entry shall be made in the Ballast Water record book describing the circumstances of, and the reason for, the discharge.
4. The Ballast Water record book shall be kept readily available for inspection at all reasonable times and, in the case of an unmanned ship under tow, may be kept on the towing ship.
5 Each operation concerning ballast water shall be fully recorded without delay in the Ballast Water Record Book. Each entry shall be signed by the officer in charge of the operation concerned and each completed page shall be signed by the master or, in the case of a group of electronic entries, shall be verified by the master in a timely manner. The entries in the Ballast Water Record Book shall be in a working language of the ship. If that language is not English, French or Spanish, the entries shall contain a translation into one of those languages. When entries in an official national language of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly are also used, these shall prevail in case of a dispute or discrepancy.
6. Officers duly authorized by a Party may inspect the Ballast Water record book on board any ship to which this regulation applies while the ship is in its port or offshore terminal, and may make a copy of any entry, and require the master to certify that the copy is a true copy. Any copy so certified shall be admissible in any judicial proceeding as evidence of the facts stated in the entry. The inspection of a Ballast Water record book and the taking of a certified copy shall be performed as expeditiously as possible without causing the ship to be unduly delayed.