New Ballast Water Regulations Add Costs for Shipowners
MarineLink.comMonday, July 29, 2013, 8:37 AM
Shipowners will soon be obliged to address new and expensive regulations to
deal with ballast water. The Ballast Water Management Convention 2004 will
require them to understand compliance standards, develop a ballast water
management plan, select and install a treatment system and train personnel to
operate the system. Their ships will be subject to surveys and inspection to
maintain certification.
The Convention requires ratification by 30 states, accounting for 35% of world
merchant tonnage. To date, state signatures amounting to 29% of that tonnage
have been obtained with the remainder expected shortly.
The International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment Protection
Committee has issued guidelines to facilitate implementation and uniform
interpretation of the convention by all countries. The convention takes a
comprehensive overview of ballast water management, including reception
facilities, water exchange, sampling, sediment reception, treatment technology
and risk management.
The latest developments are summarised in a legal briefing on environmental
law, just issued by the UK P&I Club.
There is strong support for the Ballast Water Management Convention, given the
damage caused to the environment by invasive alien species, depletion of fish
stocks and the high cost of controlling these effects. However, ballast water
management systems must avoid harming ship, crew, environment and public
health----and gain formal approval, in the U.K. from classification societies.
The cost of compliance to shipowners will be very high. A ballast water
treatment system can cost from half a million to four million dollars. There
will be ancillary costs, including developing a ballast water management plan,
dry docking and installation.
There are two standards of compliance. The ballast water exchange standard
(BWE) does not require the ship to install a treatment system but will be
phased out by 2019. The ballast water performance standard (BWP) does require
such a system.
Alternatives to the BWE and BWP methods must ensure at least the same level of
protection to the environment, human health, property and resources.
Parties to the convention can impose additional measures on ships to prevent,
reduce or eliminate the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens
through ships' ballast water and sediments. Ballast water management systems
complying with the convention standards may still fall foul of more stringent
standards set in the U.S. and other countries. Shipowners who trade to these
jurisdictions must, therefore, install systems that meet these more stringent
standards.
Ballast water management plans must be tailored to each ship. They should
include a description of the system, how it is operated, safety procedures for
ship and crew, managing ballast and sediment onboard and procedures for
disposing of sediment. The designated Ballast Water Management Officer has to
ensure all ballast water operations are recorded in a Ballast Water Record
Book----which must be available on board for inspection by authorised officers.
The plan, in the working language of the crew, should be "simple, realistic,
practical, easy to use and understood by all personnel engaged in ballast water
management on board and ashore."
Factors affecting system choice include space onboard, enough energy to operate
the system, compatibility with existing systems on board, crew safety,
operating time, and cost.
Staff training will play a key part in each plan. Training should encompass
broad awareness of the Convention's requirements, the operation and maintenance
of the installed system, safety aspects, maintaining the safety or health of
crew and passengers, entering tanks for sediment removal, handling, packaging
and storing sediment safely, dealing with local disposal facilities, and
ship-to-port communications.
The flag state will require surveys of the ship's construction, equipment and
management system to ensure compliance with the convention's requirements. An
initial survey concentrates on technical installation and equipment
specifications in pursuit of an International Ballast Water Management
Certificate or Certificate of Compliance.
Further surveys will be conducted periodically to check that the plan is being
carried through, that associated structures, equipment, systems, fittings,
arrangements and material or processes remain up to scratch, are in good
working order and have been properly maintained. Additional surveys may be
required to check on major changes, replacements or significant repairs to the
ballast water system.
Party States will be responsible for enforcing the convention in respect to
ships registered under their flags and ships entering their jurisdictional
waters. The convention provides for ratifying states to establish sanctions
which should be sufficiently strong to discourage violations. There is concern
that the application, interpretation and enforcement of the convention
requirements and sanctions imposed by the states will differ.
The MEPC 65th session in May tried to address some of owners' concerns by
rescheduling the convention implementation, installing a trial period for Port
State Control to try out sampling and testing techniques, and making BWMS type
approvals more transparent. The revised schedule should be adopted at the IMO's
Assembly in November 2013.
Jacqueline Tan, Senior Claims Executive at Thomas Miller P&I, appreciates
owners' concerns. "The high economic costs to ship owners, introduced by the
convention, coupled with a lack of confidence that the proposed equipment and
procedures can effectively tackle the adverse effects, probably explains why
the rush to ratify the convention has slowed down.
"While MEPC 651 and the revised implementation schedule have given owners
breathing space, it would still be prudent for them to get to grips with the
convention's requirements."
1 MEPC 65 - The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) which met for its 65th session from
13 to 17 May 2013.
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