Guide to ballast water.IHS Maritime
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- Published on Saturday, 04 January 2014 13:03
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The waiting game continues as the IMO looks for a further 6% of the world’s tonnage to ratify the Ballast Water Management Convention. IMO secretary general Koji Sekimizu said in February at the subcommittee on bulk liquids and gases that he had a “serious concern that, more than eight years after its adoption, the conditions for entry into force have not yet been met”.
Systems’ performance standards have been cited as one reason why many significant maritime nations have yet to ink this convention and, acknowledging this, Sekimizu added: “I urge the subcommittee to contribute to this effort by finalising the draft circular on ballast water sampling and analysis.”
Exactly when it will come into force remains to be seen, but that day will arrive and when it does the rush for retrofits will difficult to accommodate in yards.
You could argue that operators and owners
Introduction
should act now and get a ballast water management system (BWMS) installed. Yard space is available and there are likely to be good deals from system providers keen to oblige early purchasers with a reduced price.
But there are a number of systems still being tweaked as they aim for type-approval. If they receive this, there will be more choice.
Either way it’s never too early to start considering which system would be the best fit for your vessel and there are now enough different systems out there to get an overview of what’s likely to be available in the long term. Size and configuration, ease of use, maintenance requirements and, of course, type-approval status are always going to be the most important considerations (see page 43).
There are now a number of manufacturers that have a variety of systems available (see pages 14-42), many developed with specific types of vessel in mind. More than 40 of these are listed in this guide.
http://www.rwo.de/rwo/ressources/documents/1/25412,Ballast-Water-Guide-2013.pdf