Tag: BWMS

The US Coast Guard issued a Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular, in order to provide guidance to the maritime industry and Coast Guard personnel, to ensure a more complete understanding and compliance with ballast water management requirements.

In recent years, the international maritime industry has significantly focused on the implementation of IMO's BWM Convention and the approaching Sulphur Cap 2020. Mr. Kim Yeon-tae, Executive Director of the Korean Register, shares critical points on the two issues, emphasizing on challenges related to the postponement of BWMC decided at MEPC 71 and on sulphur compliance. 

The US Coast Guard approved Cal Maritime's Golden Bear Facility to work with DNV-GL as a sub-contracted laboratory for land based and shipboard testing of BWMS. The GBF, a facility onboard the Training Ship 'Golden Bear', is a practical environment for testing BWMSs to IMO and USCG standards.

The US Coast Guard issued a policy letter to provide guidance and evaluate potential courses of action for interested parties when a vessel destined for a US port has an inoperable ballast water management system (BWMS). As the US is not a party to BWM Convention, vessels in US waters should comply with the requirements of 33 CFR 151 Subparts C and D, as applicable.

Californian legislation now applies maximum fines of USD27,500 per tank where no ballast exchange has been made and between USD5,000 and USD20,000 per tank where there was an exchange within the zones of 200nm and 50nm from land, depending upon how close to land it occurred. Falsification of records is also punishable by up to one year in jail.

Ballast water testing industry group Global TestNet issued a statement addressing stakeholders’ concerns regarding the closure of two test facility members of the Global TestNet, Maritime Environment Resource Center and DHI Singapore.

Experts from ballast water testing facilities worldwide gathered at IMarEST headquarters in London, on 1-2 February, to discuss the science behind BWM. The meeting was part of the Global TestNet, a forum of organizations involved in standardization and openness of testing for the certification of BWMS.

DHI's land-based testing of BWMS will continue only in Denmark. The land-based testing requirements in the regulations pose an increasing challenge to successful type approval testing in tropical environments, which is further affected by the challenging local biological conditions in Singapore waters.

BWMS provider Envirocleanse LLC, division of Charter Brokerage, announced the completion of all land-based and shipboard testing for its patented inTank BWMS. With completion, the company will submit application to the US Coast Guard for Type Approval in the first quarter of 2018.   

Irish Continental Group has entered into a €165.2 million agreement with the German company Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesselschaft & Co for the building of a cruise ferry to be the largest in the world in terms of vehicle capacity. Scrubber technology and BWMS onboard will deliver optimal fuel consumption.