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BALLAST BWM CONVENTION IN FORCE The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments entered into force last week (8 September 2017), requiring ships to manage their ballast water to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments. “This is a landmark step towards halting the spread of invasive aquatic species, which can cause havoc for local ecosystems, affect biodiversity and lead to substantial economic loss,” said IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim. “The requirements which enter into force mean that we are now addressing what has been recognised as one of the greatest threats to the ecological and the economic well-being of the planet. Invasive species are causing enormous damage to biodiversity and the valuable natural riches of the earth upon which we depend. Invasive species also cause direct and indirect health effects and the damage to the environment is often irreversible,” he said. He added: “The entry into force of the Ballast Water Management Convention will not only minimise the risk of invasions by alien species via ballast water, it will also provide a global level playing field for international shipping, providing clear and robust standards for the management of ballast water on ships.” Ballast water is routinely taken on by ships for stability and structural integrity. It can contain thousands of aquatic microbes, algae and animals, which are then carried across the world’s oceans and released into ecosystems where they are not native. The Convention requires all ships in international trade to manage their ballast water and sediments, according to a ship-specific ballast water management plan. All ships must carry a ballast water record book and an International Ballast Water Management Certificate. Initially, there will be two different standards: D-1 and D-2. The D-1 standard requires ships to exchange their ballast water in open seas, away from coastal waters. Ideally, this means at least 200 nautical miles from land and in water at least 200 metres deep. By doing this, fewer organisms will survive and so ships will be less likely to introduce potentially harmful species when they release the ballast water. D-2 is a performance standard which specifies the maximum amount of viable organisms allowed to be discharged, including specified indicator microbes harmful to human health. New ships must meet the D-2 standard from today while existing ships must initially meet the D-1 standard. An implementation timetable for the D-2 standard has been agreed, based on the date of the ship's International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (IOPPC) renewal survey, which must be undertaken at least every five years. Eventually, all ships will have to conform to the D-2 standard. For most ships, this involves installing special equipment. LET’S GET BALLASTING RIGHT, SAYS POULSSON “The [shipping] industry may collectively need to spend around US$100 billion in order to install the new ballast water treatment systems that will be required by law. We therefore have to get this right,” said, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), Esben Poulsson, as the Convention entered into force. Poulsson called on shipowners, equipment manufacturers and governments to co-operate to ensure that proper implementation of this significant new regulatory regime will deliver maximum environment benefit: 4
“We need to ensure, so far as practicable, that the systems installed on ships will indeed be fit for purpose in all known operating conditions worldwide. We are therefore advising shipping companies that they should make it clear to equipment manufacturers they will only consider fitting treatment systems which have been certified in accordance with the revised IMO type-approval standards adopted in 2016, even though this is not yet a mandatory requirement.” ICS has welcomed the important decision, made by IMO in July, to adjust the implementation dates of the Convention, so that existing ships (i.e. ships constructed before 8 September) will not be required to install treatment systems until the date of their first International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) renewal survey after 8 September 2019. “We acknowledge the pragmatic approach to implementation taken by IMO Member States who accepted the arguments made by ICS and other industry associations that there is little logic, from an environmental protection standpoint, in requiring thousands of ships to comply until they can be fitted with systems that have been approved under the more stringent standards” explained Poulsson. “Shipowners must make full use of this additional time to identify and invest in far more robust technology to the benefit of the environment,” he said. “And in view of the significant concessions that IMO has now made in response to the industry’s representations, shipping companies should not anticipate any further relaxation to the implementation schedule.” ICS believes that as a result of the industry’s intensive efforts to explain its implementation challenges to regulators, shipowners will hopefully now have the clarity needed to get on with the job. ICS was previously ambivalent about encouraging flag states to ratify the BWM Convention in advance of some serious implementation issues being fully resolved. But now that the Convention is at the point of entry into force, and in recognition of the actions agreed by IMO, ICS is now encouraging all IMO Member States to ratify as soon as possible. TMS TANKERS TO TRIAL COLDHARBOUR BWMS UK-based Coldharbour Marine has reached an agreement with Greece’s TMS Tankers to retrofit its GLD BWT System. The 158,513dwt Suezmax tanker Bordeira will be the first to be fitted with system in early 2018 and will be used to carry out US Coast Guard (USCG) type approval tests for Coldharbour, supervised by Lloyd’s Register. LR, which has Independent Laboratory Approval status with the USCG, has already overseen IMO type approval for the Coldharbour system, validated by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The “Revised G8” certification tests agreed by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee last year will be undertaken simultaneously. “We are delighted to be working with TMS,” said Andrew Marshall, CEO of Coldharbour Marine (pictured). “Our system was designed from the outset for large tankers and similar vessels – it is our primary target market. We understand from our customers that there is still much confusion regarding ballast water compliance timetables and how the practicalities of implementation will happen. Our ethos is to help our customers make the best decisions at the right time. Our mission is to safeguard the interests of ship-owners in our market segment and to protect their profits from the costs associated with the delays and the unavoidable regrowth dangers that will lead to PSC fines and C/P disputes. Unlike some vendors, we are not in a rush.” Evangelos Sfakiotakis, TMS Tankers Technical Manager, commented: “We have carried out a careful assessment of the available technologies for our large tankers and have satisfied ourselves with Coldharbour’s inert gas-based system. There are several reasons for this, but the two main ones are; firstly, that the Coldharbour technology featuring the combination of no filters plus in-voyage treatment process guarantees that our ballasting operations will never be disrupted, and secondly, that the treatment during voyage avoids the potential risk of regrowth during a long ballast voyage. Coldharbour’s marine inert gas generator 5
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