Compliance means fulfilling a requirement or a set of rules – in this case, the regulations that govern ballast water management (BWM). The strategy for ballast water management is ballast water treatment (BWT) - which neutralizes organisms in the water. Ballast water management is a larger concept that includes alternative measures like ballast water exchange. You might see ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) referred to as ballast water management systems (BWMS).
This is the global legislation that sets the rules for ballast water treatment in around 95% of the world’s ports. [Its full name is the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments] In addition, On 28 October 2020, the IMO revised G8 guidelines (the BMWS Code) for type approving ballast water treatment systems went into effect.
Known more simply as the USCG Final Rule, this is the ballast water treatment legislation that applies when sailing in United States waters. Its requirements are similar to – but slightly different from – those in the IMO BWM Convention. Some specific rules may apply in certain regions or ports, but the regulations above guide nearly all ballast water treatment decisions.
The IMO BWM Convention and the USCG Final Rule each define a process for type approving ballast water treatment systems. In other words, they state the technical requirements that a system must meet in order to comply. However, a type approval is only a condition for compliance. The type approval states that the system design has been shown capable of meeting the requirements. It doesn’t prove that an individual system will meet the requirements. Your specific system and its installation on your vessel must be approved by a classification society – and even that isn’t the whole story.
Once you have a type-approved ballast water treatment system on board and its installation is approved by a classification society, your vessel is ready to comply. However, you have to be ready too. In order to be and stay compliant, your ballast water treatment system has to be operated and maintained according to the regulations – and your supplier’s specifications. If the crew uses the system incorrectly, or if it isn’t kept in proper condition, its type approval won’t protect you from fines or other consequences.
Compliance is never a one-time thing. You have to keep at it over time.
Type approvals All PureBallast 3 systems are type approved for compliance with:
Alfa Laval can help ensure proper installation and problem-free class approval through:
To simplify ongoing compliance, Alfa Laval offers:
Selecting a ballast water treatment system is the first step, but you still have to get it on board. And to meet the regulations, your crew must be trained to use it. Those steps should also be part of your choice.
As you look into ballast water treatment solutions, the word “compliance” is one you’ll come across in one form or another. It’s a little word, but it’s a bigger concept – and it concerns some major obligations for ballast water treatment systems and you.
Compliance is never a one-time thing. You have to keep at it over time.
Check out the ballast water treatment resource center.