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Maritime Environmental Resource Center News

01 Aug 2022

Greensea Advancing Autonomous Hull Cleaning for the US Navy

(Photo: Armach Robotics)

Marine software company Greensea Systems Inc. said it has recently been awarded a contract for a two-year Phase II Option Period by the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research to continue the technology development for an autonomous hull cleaning vehicle. This is a continuation of the work that Greensea has been conducting through a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program since 2018.“The objective of this STTR is to develop a highly autonomous robotic system for proactively cleaning ship hulls, that can be operated easily and cost effectively with minimal supervision.

06 Dec 2017

MERC to Cease BWMS Type Approval Testing

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.

02 Jun 2014

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.

19 Mar 2014

Retlif Testing Laboratories Marks 35 Years

Retlif Testing Laboratories, a strategic compliance organization and a leading independent testing laboratories, is celebrating its 35th year of operations. President Walter Poggi officially announced the anniversary with a series of planned events and pledged to uphold the personal service that has been the organization’s hallmark since its inception. Founded in 1978 by Walter and Marilyn Poggi, Retlif provides EMC/EMI and environmental simulation testing services, approvals and certifications in support of clients in the marine and maritime fields.

05 Feb 2014

Retlif Marks 35th Anniversary

Photo: Retlif Testing Laboratories

Retlif Testing Laboratories, a strategic compliance organization and independent testing laboratory, is celebrating its 35th year of operations. President Walter Poggi officially announced the anniversary with a series of planned events and pledged to uphold the personal service that has been the organization’s hallmark since its inception. Founded in 1978 by Walter and Marilyn Poggi, Retlif provides EMC/EMI and environmental simulation testing services, approvals and certifications in support of clients in the marine and maritime fields.

19 Nov 2012

Retlif To Help Test Ballast Water Technology

Retlif Testing Laboratories is part of a partnership to evaluate and test technologies designed to treat ballast water on board ships against non-native aquatic species in American coastal waters, lakes and rivers. The U.S. Coast Guard developed regulations to limit the release of live organisms and to reduce the risks associated with the spread of aquatic invasive species. Ballast water management system manufacturers (BWMS) will apply to NSF International and the U.S. Coast Guard for testing, review and evaluations.

05 Sep 2012

Ballast Water Treatment Systems Lab USCG Recognized

NSF International gains United States Coast Guard acceptance as Independent laboratory for ballast water management system testing. NSF International (NSF), an independent public health organization, has become the first Independent Laboratory (IL) accepted by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to evaluate and test technologies designed to treat ballast water on ships in order to prevent the spread of non-native aquatic species in lakes, rivers and coastal waters. NSF is leading a partnership between Retlif Testing Laboratories (Retlif), the Great Ships Initiative (GSI) and the Maritime Environmental Resource Center (MERC) to test and evaluate systems to the Coast Guard requirements.

21 Aug 2012

MERC BWT Testing Facility is U.S. Coast Guard Approved

Dr. Mario Tamburri, director of the Maritime Environmental Resource Center.

Ballast water treatment system testing facility earns U.S. Coast Guard approval. The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Maritime Environmental Resource Center (MERC) has partnered with NSF International, Great Ships Initiative and Retlif Testing Laboratories to become the first U.S. Coast Guard-approved Independent Laboratory for evaluation and testing of technologies designed for treatment of ballast water on ships. Ballast water carries non-native species from around the world can pose economic, ecological and public health risks. U.S.

20 Mar 2012

Work Boats Exchange: Stage Set for Top Owners, Suppliers

Commercial fleet owners and marine suppliers are preparing for the industry’s first Work Boats Exchange, a hosted buyer event to be held April 9-12 at the Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale. The first-of-its-kind event is not a traditional trade show, but rather a high-level, working business meeting, matching commercial fleet owners with senior-level suppliers, who are seeking to help them operate their businesses more efficiently, according to Robert Ingraham, Chief Executive Officer of Global Exchange Events, organizers of the event. The Exchange will enable fleet owners to sit down across the table in pre-arranged meetings with leading marine suppliers for 20 minutes at a time.

06 Oct 2011

Mobile BWT Facility Begins Operations

MARAD helps to fund Mobile Ballast Water Testing Facility. The Maritime Administration, along with the Maritime Environmental Resource Center and Maryland Port Administration, has dedicated a new facility to study the effectiveness of technology to treat invasive species in ballast water. The Mobile Test Platform is a retrofitted barge that will allow ballast water treatment systems to be evaluated in a natural setting at different locations in the Chesapeake Bay region. MARAD provided $1.2 million to help develop the new facility, which is able to test according to both IMO and US EPA Environmental Technology Verification protocols. MarineNews and Maritime Professional Editor Joseph Keefe attended the dedication ceremony on September 27th.

23 Apr 2010

Basic Approval, Bal Pure Ballast Water Treatment

Photo courtesy Severn Trent De Nora, LLC

The Bal Pure ballast water treatment system from Severn Trent De Nora received basic approval from the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) 60th session, March 22-26, 2010. As a result, Severn Trent De Nora has submitted its dossier for final approval of the system at an upcoming MEPC session. Severn Trent De Nora is also scheduled to conduct shipboard testing of the Bal Pure system May through November 2010 on the California Maritime Academy training ship, the T.S. Golden Bear. The T.S.

21 Jul 2008

Cummings to Join Kick-Off of MERC

On July 22 Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (Md.-7), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, will join the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Maryland Port Administration, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and the U.S. Maritime Administration aboard the MV Cape Washington to announce the kick-off of an important new research and testing project, the Maritime Environmental Resource Center (MERC). MERC has been organized to help prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species into the Chesapeake Bay and other water bodies in the . Specifically, the scientists at MERC will test the effectiveness of systems designed to safely treat ballast water before it is discharged from ships' ballast tanks.