ICS: IMO Ballast Water Convention Implementation Won't Fix "Extreme Difficulties" in the U.S.

ICS says that there is uncertainty around how U.S. and IMO ballast water management regulations will interact.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says that this week's announcement that the International Maritime Organization's (IMO's) Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention is set to be put into force next year will do nothing to solve "extreme difficulties" that remain in the U.S. around water treatment equipment.

"There is still great uncertainty with respect to the more stringent United States approval regime for treatment equipment, which started to be enforced in January 2014," states ICS.

ICS explains that the U.S., which is not a party to the IMO Convention, requires that all vessels discharging ballast water in U.S. waters use a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) approved treatment system, but notes that no systems have been approved yet.

ICS says that, as a result, U.S. regulations have either provided installation date extensions or allowed operators to install a USCG accepted Alternate Management System (AMS), but warns that an AMS will only be accepted for five years.

After the five year period, a system that is fully approved by USCG must be installed, says ICS, adding that the USCG does not guarantee that an AMS will be granted approval.

"Shipowners that may have installed an AMS in good faith, at a cost of between US $1-5 million per ship, might then have to replace the system completely after only five years," explains ICS.

Alongside news of the latest BWT Convention ratification, ICS adds that the IMO now needs to finalise the G8 Type Approval Guidelines revisions as soon as possible so that shipowners can have "absolute confidence" that investment in equipment required for compliance will be effective in treating ballast water conditions normally encountered during worldwide operations.

ICS says that the situation is further complicated as there is over 50 treatment systems currently approved by the IMO, but only 31 manufacturers that have indicated that they intend to submit their systems for U.S. approval.

"The conflicting IMO and U.S. requirements, when combined with the complete lack of systems fully approved by the USCG, could produce an impossible situation in which some ships might not be able to operate in U.S. waters when the IMO Convention enters in force," concludes ICS.

In October, Charles R. Weber Company, Inc. (CR Weaver) said that already buoyant tanker rates could get a further boost as tonnage is taken out of service for special surveys or dry docking ahead of the implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention.