Final Approval for CleanBallast

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has granted the Final Approval of Active Substances to RWO’s ballast water treatment system CleanBallast and thereby noted that the CleanBallast system is safe for the crew, ship and environment. Bremen-based RWO Marine Water Technology is a supplier of systems for water and wastewater treatment aboard ships and offshore rigs. The company is part of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, a subsidiary of Veolia Water, the leading builder of treatment plants and supplier of technical solutions for water treatment.

The International Maritime Organization has granted the Final Approval of Active Substances to RWO’s ballast water treatment system CleanBallast at the 59th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC59) on July 17 2009. This final approval is one of four major steps necessary for obtaining the full type approval certificate for ballast water treatment systems. As a first step, RWO received the basic approval of active substances from the IMO in October 2006 and subsequently finalised the land-based type approval of CleanBallast in 2007. With the newly granted Final Approval, the ongoing shipboard type approval will be the last step required for obtaining the type approval certificate. Two of the required tests were successfully completed aboard a container vessel during recent months and the third, and last test necessary to complete the six months minimum shipboard testing period is scheduled to be carried out in late summer. Therefore, RWO is hoping to be issued with the full Type Approval Certificate for its CleanBallast system by the German administration in autumn 2009.

After reviewing the available and approved ballast water technologies, the IMO decided that sufficient technologies were available for ships constructed in 2010 and therefore no changes to the Assembly Resolution A.1005(25) were needed. This means the implementation of the International Ballast Water Management Convention will not be further delayed.

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