EPA Settles Ballast Water Violation Claims
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has settled with two shipping companies over claims of violations of EPA’s Vessel General Permit issued under the Clean Water Act.Under the terms of the settlements, Swire Shipping Pte. Ltd. will pay $137,000 in penalties and MMS Co. Ltd. will pay $200,000 in penalties for claims of ballast water discharge, inspection, monitoring, and reporting violations.The violations relate to Singapore-based Swire Shipping’s vessels, the Papuan Chief and the New Guinea Chief…
Ballast Water Management is Reducing the Flow of Invasive Species into the Great Lakes
Freshwater ecosystems are threatened by a host of environmental stressors from human activities. Among the most insidious and impactful of these is invasion by non-native species.Over the past two centuries, established populations of nearly 190 non-native species of invertebrates, fishes, plants and microbes have been discovered in the Great Lakes basin. They were introduced through several sources and pathways including canals, pet release, bait bucket dumping, aquaculture escapes…
Historic US Warship Capsizes in Buffalo
A retired U.S. Navy destroyer USS The Sullivans has capsized after suffering a severe hull breech while moored on the Buffalo waterfront.On April 13, the 376-foot Fletcher-class destroyer-turned-museum experienced an electrical power-loss resulting in the failure of the onboard water discharge pumps. Progressive flooding and extreme weather conditions caused the vessel to list 45 degrees on its starboard side.Private contractors have been brought on-site by the Buffalo Naval Park to begin dewatering the vessel with four industrial dewatering pumps capable of discharging more than 13…
Expert Advice: New Ballast Water Guide
If you and your crew are facing questions about ballast water management (BWM) and related regulatory deadlines, it would be worth your while to download a new (January 2021) “Ballast Water Management Systems User Guide,” an extensive, in-depth look at evaluating, selecting and installing a BWM system. The guide was published by MARAD and Glosten for the Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP). It is geared primarily toward U.S.-flag operators in domestic and international trade.As most mariners know, BWM, overseen federally by U.S. EPA and the Coast Guard, includes a number of activities.
DESMI's BWMS for Bulkers Gains IMO, US Type Approval
DESMI Ocean Guard A/S said a new configuration of its CompactClean ballast water management system (BWMS) geared specifically for bulk carrier vessels has been approved by both the U.S. Coast Guard and the Danish Maritime Authority.The CompactClean Bulker configuration, an additional product line to the existing CompactClean product lines, is designed for higher flowrates during de-ballast solving one of the main operational issues faced by bulk carriers complying with ballast water regulations…
Canada: Hibernia Oil Platform Shuts Output after Leak
The Hibernia oil platform in Canada was shut after a leakage of drilling and production fluids, the Hibernia Management and Development Co (HMDC) said late Monday.Hibernia sits roughly 315 km (200 miles) east of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. ExxonMobil owns the largest stake in the oil platform, followed by Chevron Canada and Suncor Energy Inc."Water sampling late on July 19, during drill well flow back operations, indicated an exceedance on the produced water discharge…
Alfa Laval Unveils Scrubber for Smaller Ships
Alfa Laval introduced its PureSOx Express, a new version of its open-loop scrubber system delivered as a fully enclosed module and specifically designed for use on board smaller ships.Adapted for a simple and cost-efficient fit, the new system is engineered to reduce the investment cost, engineering time and physical work of installing a SOx scrubber on board vessels such as handymax bulkers or product tankers, where the cost of installing a scrubber for SOx compliance has sometimes…
E-Navigation is the Future of Shipping
Trading worldwide without electronic tools is no longer an option, young navigators and crew are switched on to digital technology and they want to have this new technology at their fingertips rather than the messy, slow and labour and paper-intensive methods of the past.Tor Svanes, the founder and CEO of NAVTOR, believes that electronic chart and display information systems (ECDIS) is now a must have navigational tool in the modern era.ECDIS has become the modus operandi on all ships…
USCG VIDA policy proposal
On 31 July, the US Coast Guard published a notice in the Federal Register stating that it is seeking comments on a draft policy letter that, if adopted, would establish the Coast Guard’s policy for acceptance of type-approval testing protocols for ballast water management systems (BWMSs) that render nonviable organisms in ballast water and may be used in addition to the methods under existing regulations. This policy would include the process for incorporating accepted protocols into the type-approval procedures established under existing regulations…
New Software System for Oily Water Discharge Data Collation
Developers of smart water quality monitoring technology Rivertrace Limited, have created a new, web-based software system for the automatic collation of MARPOL oily water discharge data.RIVERTRACE CONNECTED has been developed by Rivertrace in partnership with UK software developers ISB, who have more than 25 years’ experience in tailored software solutions. The intuitive, subscription-based service has been created in response to industry need and demand for the continuous monitoring of oily water discharge and simple…
DNV GL Nod to Sea Sentry Wash Water Monitor
Chelsea Technologies, a leader in the design and manufacture of sensors for the maritime sector, and a Sonardyne company, has announced that its Sea Sentry wash water monitoring system for ship exhaust gas cleaning systems has been awarded type approval by DNV-GL. This accreditation, combined with certification for its measurement protocols from Class NK and DNV-GL, assures shipowners and operators that all available measures have been taken to verify that Sea Sentry provides accurate and robust data on compliance with IMO Annex VI wash water discharge regulations.
Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 Approved by USCG
Alfa Laval PureBallast 3, the third generation of manufacturer Alfa Laval’s ballast water treatment technology, has received an updated type approval from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 was awarded an updated certificate from the USCG on April 4, granting the system type approval with zero-day holding time in all water salinities. PureBallast 3 owners in U.S. waters now have the option of discharging ballast water just 2.5 hours after taking it on. The holding time of 2.5 hours…
Wärtsilä to Provide BWMS for Eletson's Tankers
The technology group Wärtsilä’s dual technology option for Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS) will enable Greece based operator Eletson Corporation to have its entire fleet retrofitted from a single provider. A total of 23 product oil, chemical, and LPG carriers of the company’s fleet will be retrofitted with up to 69 Wärtsilä BWMS units, comprising of both their Aquarius UV (ultra-violet) and Aquarius EC (electro-chlorination) systems. The order was booked in February 2019.The…
Scrubber Safe for Environment: Carnival
Carnival Corporation has released the results of an independent, two-year scientific scrubber wash-water study.The study shows the company’s advanced air quality systems (i.e. scrubbers) are in compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2020 requirements, which include regulations for cleaner air emissions and strict wash-water quality standards.The study also concluded that the wash-water samples from scrubbers were below the limits set by several major national and international water quality and land-based water discharge standards, according to a press release.Focused specifically on analyzing the composition and quality of wash water from Advanced Air Quality Systems…
VIDA & BWMS Reform
On December 4, President Trump signed into law the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018 (S. 140). Title IX of the legislation is the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act of 2018 (VIDA). VIDA will largely cut through a morass of conflicting and confusing requirements that have developed over a number of years relating to discharges into US waters. This purpose of this new legislation is to: (1) provide for the establishment of uniform and environmentally sound standards and requirements for the management of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel…
Wärtsilä Bags New Orders for Aquarius UV BWMS
Finnish technology giant in the marine and energy markets Wärtsilä Oyj announced that it has recently been awarded a number of contracts to supply its Aquarius UV Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) to global shipping operators.According to the provider of smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions, the systems will enable the vessels to be compliant with the Ballast Water Management Convention regulations that entered into force in September 2017 for all new build vessels.The contracts cover in total 13 systems, the orders for which were all booked in quarter four 2018, said a press release."The work is being carried out for ships being built at yards in China. The orders cover installations in a RoRo ferry, two RoPax, six tankers and four container vessels.
China Bans Discharge From Open-Loop Scrubbers in Coastal Waters
China's maritime authority has banned the discharge of "wash water" used in ships to strip hazardous sulphur emissions from engine exhaust gases from Jan. 1, in an effort to curb pollution of its coastal seas.The ban on discharges from so-called open-loop scrubbers affects all rivers and ports along China's coastline and includes the Bohai Sea, according to an official from the China's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA).The measure mirrors a similar move made in Singapore ahead of International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that will ban ships from using marine fuels with a sulphur content of more than 0.5 percent from 2020, unless…
InvaSave to be used for Atlantic Blue Port Services Project
On Thursday, December 27, an InvaSave 300 Mobile Ballast Water Treatment System was transported from Damen Green Solution’s premises in Gorinchem, the Netherlands, to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to be used for a demonstration program as part of the “Atlantic Blue Port Services” project, made possible by the INTERREG Atlantic Area Program, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).Upon arriving in the port of Las Palmas, the unit will be connected to a vessel’s ballast…
China Bans Open-Loop Scrubber Discharge at 'Some' Ports
China's maritime authority has banned the discharge of "wash water" used in ships to strip hazardous sulphur emissions from engine exhaust gases from Jan. 1 for some ports, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.The ban on water discharge from so-called open-loop scrubbers is part of an effort to prepare for International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that will ban ships from using fuel oil with a sulphur content of more than 0.5 percent from 2020…
The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) - Immediate Implications of the New Law
This week, on December 4, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA): Title IX of the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2018.VIDA establishes a new framework for the regulation of vessel incidental discharges, adding a new Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 312(p): Uniform National Standards for Discharges Incidental to Normal Operation of Vessels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) are…
AAPA: U.S. Ballast Water Legislative Victory Appears Imminent
Legislation that sets standards for incidental water discharges from vessels passed the House on Nov. 29.The Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018, S. 140, which includes the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), passed the Senate two weeks earlier and now moves to the President to be signed.The provision places the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the lead role of establishing standards for ballast water discharge, and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) will monitor and enforce compliance.
CSA Completes Amelia Island Beach Survey
The global marine environmental science consulting firm CSA Ocean Sciences (CSA) announced the completion of a survey to collect data for hydrodynamic model calibration and verification in Nassau Sound, located north of Jacksonville, Florida.The CSA team measured inshore and offshore water level, tides, current and waves to calibrate and validate a hydrodynamic model. The team installed water level recorders and a wave-enabled Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and conducted an estuarine water discharge survey to gather the needed data.Morgan & Eklund, Inc. (M&E), CSA’s sister company, a licensed survey company specializing in hydrographic surveys, teamed with CSA on this project. The project was contracted and managed by Olsen Associates, Inc.
Natural Ballast Set to Launch at SMM
The new system BOS Natural Ballast set to launch at the SMM trade fair in Hamburg has been engineered to ensure that ballast water discharge standards are met at all times during the uptake and discharge. Generally, most ballast water systems involve methods of filtering off bacteria and pathogen cells larger than 50 microns in the first stage, and then follow by the processes of actively killing the remaining bacteria and pathogens with treatment options such as UV light, electrochlorination…