MEPC 71: Ballast Water Management Update
Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 71 was a very busy week and ship owners can now benefit from having a firm view of the regulatory timeline for complying with the latest global require-ments for managing the ballast water from their vessels. Unfortunately, the timeline remains very crowded and for owners with ships trading to and from the U.S., compliance is more complicated. While some deadlines were eased to reflect the fact that many dates from the original BWM Convention had lapsed while consensus was being reached…
NSF Expands Independent Lab for USCG
The NSF International Independent Laboratory (IL), the first designated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to test ballast water management systems (BWMS) for U.S. type approval, will now include the American Bureau of Shipping’s (ABS) expertise. ABS will complete design/construction and documentation reviews as part of the type approval, and will work with three other IL partners to maximize the value of USCG type approval testing for BWMS manufacturers. ABS will also evaluate the appropriateness of the systems for installation and operation onboard vessels. NSF’s IL partnership, formed in 2012, includes Retlif Testing Laboratories, the Great Ships Initiative, the Maritime Environmental Resource Center and now ABS.
ABS Classes First CSR Tankers Built in the U.S.
International classification society ABS confirmed it will class the first common structural rules (CSR) tankers built in the United States. Three, shallow-draft 49,000 dwt Jones Act product tankers built for Texas-based AHL Shipping Company are currently under review by the society. ABS is most familiar with the tanker design having been involved since 2004 when it applied its proprietary SafeHull analysis to the initial design. SafeHull is a dynamic-based ship design evaluation system founded on engineering first principles. According to Tom Kirk, Director, Technology & Business Development, ABS Americas, this design was originally…
