By Ioannis Stefanou
System selection and installation are just the first challenges when it comes to operating a ballast water management system (BWMS), writes Ioannis Stefanou, group technical director, Wallem Shipmanagement.
The second half of 2016 brought shockwaves to some shipowners who were still in a state of denial about the need to install ballast water management systems (BWMS) onboard their vessels. The ratification of the Ballast Water Management Convention and the announcement of the first US Coast Guard type approved BWMS saw many shipowners rush to drydock their vessels at the beginning of the year, or de-harmonise their IOPP certificates in an attempt to delay fitting a system onboard their ships.
Others have already installed a BWMS onboard or have decided to install one. Much has been written on the various constraints that are to be faced for selecting and installing a system, but not much has been heard about the systems installed on board. Do they work? This is not asking whether they treat the water to the desired level, but whether or not they operational. The answer to this is that unfortunately many do not work – at least not in such a straightforward way as many manufacturers would like us to believe.
Within the Wallem-managed fleet we have more than 40 vessels with BWMS installed; either during the newbuilding stage or retrofitted. These are systems across the range of five different treatment technologies and by various manufacturers. Only two thirds of the systems installed were fully operational onboard within the first six months – on some vessels they were not fully operational even after a year. The problems weren’t inherent to a specific type of technology or manufacturer; although I have to mention that one type of technology had a 100% success rate for problem-free operations, despite different manufacturers. In the absence of official numbers from the industry, informal conversations within the industry suggest that issues with installed systems are a common experience.
At Wallem, when we realised the extent of the challenges that the crew and the superintendents faced concerning the operation of some of the BWMS, we decided to follow a centralised approach and have one person focusing on making sure that the systems onboard had become fully operational, before handing over responsibility to the fleet superintendents.
Our approach to this compromises the three key elements for achieving operational excellence: people, assets and procedures. We are focusing on crew training by the manufacturers, both onboard and ashore. We also offer familiarisation courses at our training centres as part of the pre-joining training. Lastly, we rotate some of our senior officers who are experienced with certain systems to enable them to share their knowledge and experience on board.
On the equipment front we are in close contact with the manufacturers in order to resolve the issues faced. I have to mention that the response and support by all manufacturers has been superb. There are inevitably issues with components or new issues (even new to the manufacturer) which crop up, but we always work together to bring the system to full operation in the shortest of time.
Finally, we have generated specific job routines in our planned maintenance system based on manufacturer’s instructions and our experience and also have created ship-specific operating instructions and troubleshooting advise. Even if it is not required yet, our policy is that the BWTS is operated regularly in order for the crew to be familiarised with the operation and that we maintain the system in full operational condition for when we are required to use it.
The road to compliance with the Ballast Water Management Convention and US requirements is not easy for owners, and is certainly costly. Installing systems that might not be fully functional when required is not something that any owner would like to see. At Wallem we have experienced that good planning, execution and focus – as well as close cooperation between BWMS manufacturers and the ship manager – can minimise the burden to the owner.
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Source: The Motorship
