U.S. Coast Guard Accepts Nine BWTS as AMS
Followers of the Ballast Water Treatement System (BWTS) situation (ie. presumably anyone reading this publication) were heartened last month when the U.S Coast Guard announced its acceptance of nine BWTS as Alternate Management Systems (AMS), helping to finally bring some clarity to ship owners, yards and suppliers. On April 15, 2013, the USCG announced the acceptance of the ballast water treatment systems as AMS in compliance with the service’s March 2012 final rule for Standards for Living Organisms in Ships’ Ballast Water Discharged (SLOSBWD) in U.S. waters.
Ballast Water Tech: Hyde Marine
As ship owners globally face the eventual mandate to install ballast water management technology onboard their ships – a refit which is touted as the most expensive equipment refit ever – Maritime Reporter & Engineering News in its February 2013 edition examines emerging Ballast Water Technologies for consideration. Hyde produced its first system in 1999 and installed its first system on the M/S Coral Princess in 2003. The Hyde system was the first accepted into USCG STEP program in October of 2008.
Big Ideas Sometimes Come in Small Packages
Hyde Marine’s chemical-free, IMO Type Approved ballast water treatment solution packs performance in a smaller footprint. That’s good news for small vessel operators who may soon find themselves impacted by a problem that previously was thought to be a “bluewater” issue. The notion that ballast water treatment and invasive species are both strictly the domain of big, bluewater liners coming from the Far East and other exotic locales quickly went out the porthole last November when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its long-awaited, updated draft Vessel General Permit (VGP) rule. The new rules potentially bring regulations to bear on vessels as small as 79 feet LOA and others, depending on service and routing.
BALPURE System Authorized in California
The S/R American Progress, a double-hull U.S. flag tank ship, operated by SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., and fitted with the BALPURE ballast water management system from Severn Trent De Nora, is authorized to discharge treated ballast water into the water of California. Authorization was granted by the California State Lands Commission in accordance with California Public Resources Code Section 71204.3(d), which authorizes vessels to manage their ballast water using alternative, environmentally…
