Shipping organisations ‘deeply concerned’ at lack of approved ballast water treatment systems in the US
London: The Round Table (RT) of International Shipping Organisations comprising BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping, Intercargo and INTERTANKO said in a release today it is “deeply 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.
US regulations ultimately require all ships that discharge ballast into US waters to treat this through a US Coast Guard (USCG) approved BWMS. Currently there are a number of BWMSs in the USCG testing and approval process, but none that have as yet received type approval.
Arthur Bowring, managing director of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, weighed into the ballast water issue when interviewed for Splash TV recently. His interview can be accessed by clicking here.
