In its annual Port State Control (PSC) report for 2022 released in late April, the US Coast Guard noted that compliance with ballast water management regulations continues to be one of the most challenging issues faced by the maritime industry.
In 2022, the Coast Guard issued 25% more deficiencies for noncompliance with the regulations over the previous year’s numbers. The majority of the deficiencies were issued to vessels with inoperable systems, deficient ballast water management plans, and failing to report mandatory ballast water practices to the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (NBIC) within specified timeframes, much like 2020 and 2021.
Types of deficiencies
- BWMS: Deficiencies include both inoperable Coast Guard Type Approved systems and accepted Alternative Management Systems.
- COTP Reporting: Deficiencies are issued when a vessel fails to report an inoperable system to the USCG.
- Discharge: Deficiencies are issued when a vessel discharges non-compliant ballast water.
- Implementation Schedule: Deficiencies involve vessels that are past their compliance date and using an unapproved BWM method.
- Mandatory Practices: Deficiencies include failures to remove hull fouling organisms and marine growth as well as improper uptake of ballast water.
- Structural: Deficiencies record failures in ballast water tanks and associated piping.
On the positive side, the Coast Guard is seeing an increased trend of vessels reporting their inoperable systems prior to arrival. Additionally, the Enhanced Exam Program (EEP) contributed to identification of more discharges of non-compliant ballast water into the waters of the United States as well as showing an increase of non-reported inoperable ballast water systems.
EXPLORE MORE by reading uscg psc annual report here
