Whether the convention comes into force or not, we all know that shifting tonnes of ballast water across the oceans is definitely complicating the marine ecosystem’s equilibrium. IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is meeting for its 69th session this week. One of the key items on the agenda for BIMCO is the implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments.
While the world and IMO are working at one end to frame suitable stringent guidelines aiming at the convention expected to enter into force anytime from now. On the other end, specialists like OPTIMARIN has now sold over 400 units of its environmentally-friendly UV-based systems, helped by the firm’s huge investment in testing and certification.
Recently OPTIMARIN got its ballast water system approved by the USCG, which took its business to new heights as an approval from the USCG is the most superior certification which every maker aspires for! The system has certificates from DNV GL, Lloyd’s, Bureau Veritas, MLIT Japan, and American Bureau of Shipping, alongside full IMO approval.
Mr Anderson added: “USCG approval is becoming a benchmark standard for forward-thinking customers planning for guaranteed future regulatory compliance. This is proving to be a key business driver for Optimarin.”
The system has now satisfied all marine water tests and is in its final testing stage, with full USCG approval expected later this year. For shipowners with large global fleets, this will give them the flexibility to sail in and out of US waters, discharging ballast, as desired.
Orders have been strong for Optimarin so far this year. Optimarin Ballast System (OBS) orders have been confirmed with Atlantis Tankers (10 units) and Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group (nine), while the firm also made its first foray into fishing, with a contract for the Fisherman’s Finest vessel America’s Finest.
The latest win, with Carisbrooke from the UK, was the largest. It’s a fleet agreement with the potential to encompass retrofits on 46 bulk and multipurpose vessels.
Mr Anderson pointed out that now that the ratification of the IMO’s Ballast Water Management convention is finally imminent, the firm is seeing more and more shipowners wanting fleet wide retrofits.
Lars Robert Pedersen, BIMCO’s Deputy Secretary General, says: “The shipping industry needs reliable ballast water treatment systems that are fit for global use. Presently, IMO approved systems may not always live up to the required standards under real operating conditions on board ships.”
The importance of the Ballast Water Management Convention was highlighted by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim in his opening address.
“It is recognised that installing and operating a ballast water management system comes at a price and shipowners are understandably concerned about incurring such costs, especially in the current difficult economic climate. Also, new technologies need time to mature, which has caused many owners to stand back and wait. However, these concerns should not stop us from implementing the Convention and I would strongly encourage Member Governments to cooperate and establish meaningful measures which would ease the burden for the shipping industry. However, there can be no doubt that we must move to entry into force and implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention.”
To date, 49 States with an aggregate of 34.79 percent of the world’s merchant fleet tonnage have acceded to the Convention. The entry into force condition of 35 percent is now tantalizingly close, says Lim, and, with further ratifications in the pipeline, there is every expectation that it will be reached during the current year. This would mean that the Convention will come into force during 2017.
References: BIMCO, Maritime Executive, Motorship.
