The Round Table (RT) of International Shipping Organisations (comprising BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping, Intercargo and Intertanko) is deeply[ds_preview] concerned if the international convention to regulate ships´ ballast water comes into force in the near future without a realistic implementation schedule that recognises the timetable for US type-approved Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS) to be available in sufficient quantities.
The RT believes that the resulting dilemma would force the international shipping industry to spend millions of dollars on BWMS that may not achieve US type-approval and therefore will need to be replaced in a short period of time.
The RT expects that the Ballast Water Management Convention will be ratified very shortly and will enter into force as early as 2016. Shipowners that have not already done so, will be required to spend between 1mill. $ and 5mill. $ to install a BWMS on each of their ships. It is estimated that there are 50,000 ships that require to be fitted with BWMS over a five year period. However, this may also create an impossible situation for ships that trade to the United States, where unilateral national regulation is already in force, the RT fears. The US regulations ultimately require all ships that discharge ballast into US waters (12 miles) to treat this through a US Coast Guard (USCG) approved BWMS. Currently there are a number of BWMS in the USCG testing and approval process, but none that have as yet received type approval. The RT has urged the US Coast Guard to approve as many ballast water management systems as possible, as soon as possible and provide a pragmatic schedule for the installation of such equipment.
According to the RT there are 54 BWMS approved under the IMO regime, but worryingly only 17 manufacturers have indicated an intent to submit their system for USCG approval testing. There is no guarantee that systems submitted will gain approval under the stringent US testing regime; consequentially, when the IMO convention enters into force, ship operators trading to the US will be forced to fit a BWMS that may never achieve USCG type approval. If the chosen system does not obtain USCG approval, it will have to be replaced within five years in order to continue to trade to the USA.
