Independent Laboratory News

Independent laboratory testing reportedly confirmed there is no decrease in the thickness of hull coatings from the use of Shipshave’s In-Transit Cleaning of Hulls (ITCH) solution, according to the company.The Endures laboratory in the Netherlands was enlisted by Norwegian technology developer Shipshave to perform tests to investigate the impact on the thickness and roughness of anti-fouling coatings from repeated brushing with the ITCH system.A number of coated panels treated…

Norwegian-based ballast water treatment (BWT) systems manufacturer Optimarin informs it has completed testing of its Optimarin Ballast System (OBS) in accordance with the revised IMO G8 guidelines, while also upgrading its existing U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) approval certificates to ensure compliance for zero to two hours holding time.The testing procedures were conducted at the NIVA test facility in Norway from September 2019 to the end of June 2020, with DNV GL operating as the designated Independent Laboratory. Tests were conducted with two different filters simultaneously.

The Evac Evolution Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) has been granted IMO Type Approval. The system has been designed and manufactured by Cathelco, which has been part of Evac Group since May 2018.The system has been tested to the latest IMO requirements which encompass the revised G8 standard and the recently introduced Ballast Water Management Code which has much more robust definitions of the design limitations of the equipment.The Evac Evolution BWMS is also well on its…

Extensions, type approvals and next steps were all prominent on the agenda.September’s Ballast Water Management and Technology North America conference saw USCG staff from the Office of Operating and Environmental Standards and the Marine Safety Center giving conference attendees an update on various aspects of the Coast Guard’s ballast water program. Following is a recap of those presentations for our readers who were unable to attend:Ms. Regina Bergner and Mr. Matthew Reudelhuber with the Office of Operating and Environmental Standards, and Lt.

This month we caught up with Jeong-kie Lee, Chairman and CEO of the Korean Register and also the Chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS), for his insights on the dominant trends moving the maritime industry into the future.The maritime industry has been challenged, to say the least. Today, where do you see challenge? Where do you see opportunity?The maritime industry is in a state of extreme upheaval, with private and public organizations having to deal with a wide range of ever changing…

Maritime Environmental Resource Center will no longer conduct Type Approval Certification testing of ballast water management systems. The Maritime Environment Resource Center (MERC) was established in 2008 by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) to facilitate the development and adoption of Green Ship and Green Port innovations with a primary goal of expanding on over twenty years of research addressing the issues of ballast water invasive species. Invasive species introduction through the release of ship’s ballast water have enormous ecological and economic impacts on coastal waters around the world.

De Nora announced that it has completed shipboard testing for its BALPURE ballast water treatment system (BWTS), and intends to make  its submission for United States Coast Guard (USCG) Type Approval by the end of 2017. The shipboard testing of  De Nora BALPURE was conducted on a US-flagged Aframax tanker operating in the west coast of the United States in the regulated waters of California and Alaska. The tanker is in normal trading and has been ballasting and deballasting with BALPURE system on a regular basis. The end of shipboard testing represents the conclusion of De Nora’s USCG testing, having already completed the land-based testing, engineering design and environmental testing elements of the submission.

Ecochlor and DNV GL have announced  DNV GL Type Approval on behalf of Norway of the Ecochlor Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS). In addition to serving as Ecochlor’s Independent Laboratory for US Coast Guard (USCG) Type Approval, DNV GL simultaneously evaluated and approved the Ecochlor System under DNV GL rules and the BWM Convention. With its USCG Type Approval certificate, Ecochlor stands alone as the first approved treatment system produced by a US manufacturer; the only approved chemical injection treatment technology…

Ballast water treatment system (BWTS) manufacturer Envirocleanse said it recently signed an Agreement with CMB/Bocimar to install the patented inTank BWTS aboard the Capesize bulk carrier, Mineral New York. The initial installation will be designed as a pilot study to reflect much of CMB's fleet and will include the treatment of a cargo hold being used in part as a ballast tank. Envirocleanse is currently undergoing both land-based and shipboard testing aboard the USTS Golden Bear with DNV-GL as the independent laboratory.

U.K.-based Coldharbour Marine, a manufacturer of ballast water treatment systems based on inert gas technology, has reached an agreement with Greece’s TMS Tankers to retrofit its GLD BWT System. TMS Tankers is a member of the Athens based TMS Group operating currently 43 tankers. The 2013-built 158,513DWT Suezmax tanker Bordeira, owned and operated by TMS Tankers, will be the first to be fitted with Coldharbour’s BWT System in early 2018 and will be used to carry out U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) type approval tests for Coldharbour, supervised by Lloyd’s Register. LR has Independent Laboratory Approval status with the USCG. The classification society has already overseen IMO type approval for the Coldharbour system, validated by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

SeaCURE Ballast Water Management System (BWMS), the electrochlorination based solution from Evoqua Water Technologies, has completed all biological efficacy U.S. Coast Guard Type-Approval tests. Tests were carried out under the supervision of classification society Lloyd’s Register and the independent laboratory NSF International will now compile test data for submission to the USCG for imminent approval. Matt Granitto, Business Manager, Ballast Water, said, “We are delighted…

U.K.-based manufacturer of ballast water treatment systems based on unique inert gas technology Coldharbour Marine said it has signed a contract with Lloyd’s Register (LR) to oversee the complete range of tests required by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in its type approval process. LR has Independent Laboratory Approval from the USCG and will work closely in the type approval tests with Marine Eco Analytics (MEA), a test laboratory in the Netherlands. Revised and more comprehensive…

Ecochlor has announced it has filed an application with the USCG for Type Approval for their Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS). Due to a far more stringent set of guidelines, type approval has only been granted to three other BWT Systems worldwide, none of which offer Ecochlor’s unique, patented ClO2 technology. Upon USCG approval, the Ecochlor BWTS will extend the range of options for shipowners beyond UV and electrochlorination technologies. Unlike other water treatment technologies…

With the accession by Finland to the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (better known as the Ballast Water Management or BWM Convention), there are now sufficient ratifications for the Convention to enter into force. Entry into force will occur on 8 September 2017. It has been an agonizingly slow process for a convention that was adopted with such high hopes. Starting in the late 1970s as vessels became larger and faster…

What is an EAL? Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) are defined by the EPA as offering these three characteristics. First, they must be “biodegradable” - biodegrading into carbon dioxide and water by ≥ 60% or more within 28 days (according to OECD 301B or ASTM D7373 methods). Next, they must be “minimally toxic,” causing only a light impact on the aquatic environment (LC50> 100mg/L for lubricants and LC50>1000mg/L). Lastly, they are “not bioaccumulative,” and must have a low propensity to bioaccumulate in organisms.

The Korean Register (KR) – an IACS member classification society – has announced that it has significantly expanded its land-based test facilities for Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) by opening a brand new specialist facility. KR has been conducting type approval testing of BWMS since 2004, with a consortium of six different partners. KR and its partners segregate the duties, taking into account each organization’s specialist expertise. This range of expert knowledge and high quality services was recognized when KR was accepted as the first Independent Laboratory in Asia to be accredited by the United States Coast Guard (USCG IL).

Korean Register (KR) - an IACS member classification society – has been accepted by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) as an Independent Laboratory (IL) to undertake tests, inspections and evaluations for ballast water management systems. KR has been accepted by the USCG, as an Independent Laboratory, to type approve ballast water management systems in accordance with the U.S. Code of Federal Regulation. The society is the first in Asia and the second in the world (outside U.S.) to gain this authorization.

Korean Register (KR) - an IACS member classification society – announces that it has been accepted by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) as an Independent Laboratory (IL) to undertake tests, inspections, and evaluations for Ballast Water Management Systems. KR has been accepted by the USCG, as an Independent Laboratory, to type approve ballast water management systems in accordance with the US Code of Federal Regulation. The society is the first in Asia and the second in the world (outside US) to gain this authorization. To prevent the introduction and spread of non-indigenous species contained in ships’ ballast water, IMO has developed the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) which will become effective as soon as it has been ratified by the required number of states.

Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, the 25th commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has a full plate. Driving sexual assault out of the Coast Guard; Preparing the fleet for operations through the year 2061; Coordinating intel and assets to stem the flow of illegal drugs ... they are all on the short list. From his Washington, DC, HQ he shares his vision and mission with Maritime Reporter. You are almost a year in this position as the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. Looking back, critique year one.

Shipboard testing to be conducted on the vessel APL England as NEI takes the next step towards full USCG Type Approval for its Venturi Oxygen Stripping (VOS) Ballast Water Treatment System. NEI Treatment Systems announced that the container vessel APL England will be used for the shipboard testing phase of their VOS Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS), to begin in the early summer of 2015. The APL England is a 67.9K DWT container vessel, trading between China and multiple ports on the U.S. West Coast. The vessel utilizes a VOS system operating at 1,250 m3/hr., and was installed seven years ago. The retrofit project was completed as an in-service “riding” installation.

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has been approved as an independent laboratory (IL) and will begin testing of Ballast Water Treatment Systems (BWTS) to meet the United States Coast Guard (USCG) requirements. The USCG regulations for the approval of BWTS came into effect in 2012. The regulations began to require the installation of improved BWTS onboard seagoing vessels from 2014. All vessels that trade in U.S. waters will be required to have an approved BWTS from the first dry-docking after 2016. LR has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ballast Water test facility at DHI Denmark and the electro/technical testing company DELTA. These leading test facilities, supported by LR’s surveyors and statutory experts will conduct testing as part of our collectively recognized IL.

Cathelco have supplied a ballast water treatment (BWT) system for the C.C. Pacifique, a steel barge which is being converted into a cable laying vessel for Coastal Carriers BV of the Netherlands. The order for the system was placed by V.Delta, part of V.Group, the international ship management company who are managing the conversion of the 120 meter vessel which is taking place in Singapore. The BWT system has a capacity of 300 m3/hr and has been supplied as a self contained skid mounted unit.

Evoqua Water Technologies has become the first company to complete low salinity (brackish) water testing for ballast water management solutions (BWMS), the company announced today. As part of United States Coast Guard (USCG) protocols, BWMS are designed to safely protect the environment and world economies from invasive aquatic species damage. Testing for the SeaCURE system for BWMS was completed at the Marine Environmental Resource Center (MERC) in Baltimore, Md. under rigorous conditions that replicate the environment in which the system will be operating…