The shipowners have been warned not to wait until 2022 to retrofit ballast water management systems as they may face difficulties.
Warning Issued
In a press release dated 28 September 2018, ClassNK advises existing ships to install ballast water management (BWM) systems early on. An analysis of the retrofitting status of its registered ships confirms that as of the end of August 2018:
- A total of 7,315 ships in ClassNK’s register are obliged to install ballast water treatment systems in accordance with the BWM Convention;
- Only 1,915 ships have completed the installation so far; and of the 5,400 ships that still require attention in order to become compliant, more than half have their installation deadlines in 2022.
Advised against waiting
The trend to wait until the latest dates possible to install ballast water treatment systems is probably not unique to shipowners with ships registered with ClassNK. There have been reports of operating difficulties with early designs of treatment systems, the number of systems with type approval for the stricter US Coast Guard regulations have been limited, and when taking into account the costs associated with retrofitting a system, it is not surprising that shipowners want to increase their chances of success by delaying the decision until the last possible minute.
Need for adequate planning
Ballast water Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (BEMA) said, “Ship upgrades and retrofits require adequate planning to ensure efficient, cost-effective and successful completion and with order books filling up for installation dates between 2019 and 2022, it is already the last possible minute”.
In an open letter to the industry published on 21 September 2018, BEMA reminds the industry that compliance dates are rapidly approaching. The Association emphasises that installing and optimising a ballast water treatment system is a lengthy process and that shipowners who wait too long may either find themselves non-compliant or forced to install a non-optimal solution for their vessel type and operational profile.
Time to learn
Moreover, an additional benefit of starting the process early is the opportunity to fully learn how the system works once in operation, how the company actually performs, and what your crew needs to know – before compliance is mandatory.
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Source: GARD
