Amendments to an international treaty aiming to prevent the spread of potentially invasive species in ships’ ballast water entered into force on 13 October 2019. The amendments set out an implementation schedule to make sure that ships manage their ballast water to meet a specified standard (D-2 standard).
The State of California will delay the introduction of strict ballast water quality standards to 2030. These standards are considered to be significantly more strict in comparison to the USCG Final Rule and IMO International Ballast Water Management Convention.
Singapore flagged vessels should bare in mind recent MPA Singapore circulars, regarding the commissioning testing of ballast water management systems (BWMS) and the incorporation of contingency measures into ballast water management plans (BWMP).
Since steel-ships were introduced to shipping, water has been used as ballast to stabilize vessels at sea. However, ballast water can contain organisms, which when transferred, are able to establish a reproductive population, thus becoming invasive. For this reason, IMO has established the “International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments”, mandating the implementation of ballast water management plan and ballast water treatment system on board ships.
As the Britannia P&I Club informs, the Government of Ukraine has now published the full text of the Regulation on Inspection, Taking Samples of Water and Conducting its Analysis and which came into force on 5 September 2019. The regulations establish the procedures to be followed when taking ballast water samples.
The US Coast Guard Marine Safety Center issued the 21st USCG Ballast Water Management System Type Approval Certificate to COSCO Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary, COSCO (Weihai) Shipbuilding Marine Technology Co., Ltd.
Between 8 Sep 2019 and Sep 2024, the BWM Convention will reach the second phase of its implementation where all ships will have to conform to the D-2 standard. In other words, after 15 years, the Ballast Water Management Convention is coming into full effect from this September since all ships must be fitted with D-2-compliant ballast water treatment system by the next IOPP renewal survey but not later than 8 September 2024.
The US Coast Guard Marine Safety Center received its 29th application for type approval for the BAWAT Ballast Water Management System Mk2 manufactured by BAWAT A/S. MSC will review the application for compliance with U.S. Coast Guard regulations in 46 CFR 162.060. Once it has been determined that the application meets the requirements, the MSC will issue a type approval certificate.
The US Coast Guard announced that it is seeking public comment on a draft policy letter for accepting test methods that measure viability of organisms when conducting Ballast Water Management System type approval testing. The public comment period for the policy letter is open, and comments must be submitted by September 30, 2019.
The US Coast Guard Marine Safety Center received its 27th application for type approval for the EcoGuardian BWTS manufactured by the Korean manufacturer HANLA IMS Co., Ltd. MSC will review the application for compliance with USCG regulations in 46 CFR 162.060.
