The US Coast Guard (USCG) may be planning to issue a newsletter shortly to clarify its position on the Alternate Management System (AMS) scheme, according to a senior manager at a leading ballast water management system manufacturer.
USCG type approvals:
With three BWMSs now having USCG type-approvals and more expected to follow, some expect that the scheme will be withdrawn in the near future. As BWTT reported in January, some interpret the current rules as providing an opportunity to operate without a USCG-approved system for up to 10 years, as explained by Mark Riggio, senior market manager for Hyde Marine, which makes the Hyde Guardian treatment system. The window of time to benefit from this will close within the next few months, he predicted.
Demand restrictions:
A manager at another leading BWMS manufacturer told BWTT earlier this week that the USCG might give approvals to AMS systems based on demand restrictions in the market, “but it’s quite unclear,” he said. That company’s compliance engineer asked the USCG for clarification in January “but we have only received a confirmation that they are working on our question,” he said.
The question that manufacturer has put to the USCG drew attention to paragraph 151.2026 in the AMS regulation, which says: “Once ballast water management systems are type-approved by the Coast Guard and available for a given class, type of vessels, or specific vessel, those vessels will no longer be able to install AMS in lieu of type-approved systems.”
Uncertainty:
So it asked the USCG for clarification as to whether, now that there are three type-approved systems on the market, “can ship owners still install and operate AMS-approved systems or are USCG TA systems the only accepted compliance option on contracts signed after December 2016?”
Because of this uncertainty, “owners who are looking into signing a contract for an AMS-approved system should contact the USCG urgently to get a statement that they in fact will get five years’ approval for the system,” he told BWTT. So he welcomed the news that clarification may be published soon. “Maybe our question will be answered,” he said.
Mr Riggio is confident that his understanding of the USCG requirements is correct. “To change the rule it needs to officially publish something that closes down [the AMS] option. It is currently available today and we know vessel owners who are getting extensions based on their desire to install our system in the future.”
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Source: Ballast Water Treatment Technology
