Last week the US Coast Guard (USCG) approved two more ballast water management (BWM) systems by Alfa Laval and OceanSaver,
after having done so for Optimarin earlier this month.
So the three in total USCG BWM System Type Approval Certificates have been issued so far to:
- Alfa Laval Tumba AB (Swedish manufacturer)
Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 (UV reactor sizes 300 and 1000): ultraviolet system; treatment capacities ranging from 85m3/h to 3000m3/h
- OceanSaver AS (Norwegian manufacturer)
OceanSaver BWTS MKII: electro-chlorination, or electrodialysis, system; treatment capacities ranging from 200m3/h to 7200m3/h.
- Optimarin AS (Norwegian manufacturer)
Optimarin Ballast System: a filtration/ultraviolet system; treatment capacities ranging from 167m3/h to 3000m3/h.
While these developments reduce owners’ uncertainty in choosing a system,
that could be e.g. IMO-type approved but not compatible with USCG requirements,
they may also make it more difficult to obtain exemptions, extensions, and alternate methods of ballast water compliance in US waters.
INTERCARGO has been looking into the real practical problems that owners of bulk carriers are facing globally
ahead of the IMO BWM Convention entry into force on 8 Sept. 2017, and will be updating you soon in this respect.
