Early planning, engagement with competent partners will be the key to timely compliance. The May announcement that W&O Supply had been named as the exclusive distributor of Hyde Marine’s GUARDIAN Ballast Water Treatment Systems (BWT) in the U.S. and Canada may seem like routine news. After all, W&O Supply is one of the world’s largest marine suppliers and has many such agreements in place, covering a wide range of equipment. This agreement, however, comes in advance of Ballast Water Treatment deadlines looming large in the porthole. It also lays out the blueprint for owners and operators to move forward on the complicated process of achieving regulatory compliance with both Coast Guard and IMO mandates. Florida-based W&O will begin selling Hyde GUARDIAN BWTS effective immediately.