Selection and Installation of Ballast Water Management Systems for Tankers
INTERTANKO’s Ballast Water Treatment Technology Guide launched earlier this week in Athens. Twenty member companies were represented at the launch which involved a seminar and Q&A session on ballast water treatment technology and compliance, moderated by INTERTANKO Senior Manager – Environment, Tim Wilkins.
INTERTANKO’s Guide to the Selection and Installation of Ballast Water Management Systems for Tankers has been developed to assist tanker owners during the selection, assessment and installation of Ballast Water Management (BWM) systems for existing and newbuilding tankers. It has been developed using experience and guidance from INTERTANKO Members on the Environmental Committee and INTERTANKO’s Safety, Technical and Environmental Committee (ISTEC). It is therefore the product of research by several separate tanker operating companies and their technical teams who have been through the process of considering which BWM systems are appropriate for the tankers within their fleet.
One of the key elements in tackling the problem of proper selection and installation of BWM systems on board tankers is the gathering of information. INTERTANKO Members identified early on that neither the information from the BWM manufacturers, nor that from the classification societies as technical bodies, was sufficient to base a decision on. Consequently, those same Members recommended sharing information and facts on systems that they had assessed and evaluated. Much of this Guide reflects this approach to information sharing by INTERANKO Members.
The twenty member companies present at the seminar/q&a and launch raised their concerns regarding the implementation schedule of the IMO’s Ballast Water Convention and how the industry may meet the installation dates as well as enforcement requirements once the Convention enters into force. More detailed questions focused on practical issues, including the development of a correct procedure and understanding on how a port state may react when a system or part of a system may fail during a de-ballast operation – something that at present doesn’t seem to be covered in the Convention.
This omission, it was agreed, is of concern, as with many untested systems, and systems that may require more than two or three separate treatment plants, there is the risk that they could fail during the operational phase, if treatment is carried out during discharge.
INTERTANKO’s Guide to the Selection and Installation of Ballast Water Management Systems for Tankers will be available for delivery mid-January 2012.
Source : INTERTANKO
