Ballast Water Management News

Techcross, a leading ballast water management system (BWMS) manufacturer in Korea, said it has become the first in the industry to obtain Cyber Resilience Certification from the Korean Register (KR), a certification that evaluates ability to respond to cyber threats during design, operation, and recovery process based on the UR E27 regulations established by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). With the growing adoption of digital technologies into ships, the risks of cyber threats and attacks have increased significantly.

The Federal Maritime Commission is closing one of its two investigations of how Canadian ballast water regulations impact shipping in the Great Lakes, but the remaining investigation will continue to permit the agency to assess if Canadian government policies create unfavorable conditions affecting U.S. flagged vessels operating in the U.S.-Canada trade.The Commission published Notice in the Federal Register that it is closing its Investigation into Conditions Affecting United…

INTERTANKO is opening its Ports with Challenging Water Quality Database to non-members in a bid to increase understanding of the issues that ballast water management systems are facing.Any shipowner can now contribute to the results by submitting their own reports.The database is designed to support vessels calling at ports that cause ballast water management systems (BWMS) to run sub-optimally due to challenging water quality conditions when taking on ballast.The database is…

The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee MEPC 82 met from 30 September to 4 October 2024 and discussed a range of environmental matters, including proposed mid-term measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships, enhancing energy efficiency of shipping, tackling marine litter, ballast water management and underwater noise reduction.Tackling climate change - cutting GHG emissions from shipsThe Committee made progress on the development of mid-term…

Alfa Laval reports it has received an order to replace 18 ballast water treatment systems (BWMS) onboard vessels belonging to a major European shipowner. Over the past two years, Alfa Laval has replaced more than 250 systems from 30 different manufacturers, and the orderbook for replacement continues to grow.“With the consolidation of the BWMS market, we see a growing need for replacing installed BWMS systems,” said Tobias Doescher, Head of Global Sales, Business Development and Marketing, Alfa Laval PureBallast.

Wendy Laursen’s article Getting the Numbers Right, published in the August issue of Maritime Reporter, sparked debate from ballast water management experts. Here Jad Mouawad, CEO of Mouawad Consulting, provides his feedback on the article which outlines the challenges the industry has faced trying to reduce the occurrence of invasive marine species transferred by ballast water.We have now the vast majority of ships fitted with ballast water management systems (BWMS). I would say…

It was never going to be realistic to expect treated ballast water to have zero viable organisms on discharge.The G8 guidelines that define the type approval process for ballast water treatment systems were initially agreed at the IMO before any systems had actually been developed.The IMO had already been working on the issue of invasive species being transferred around the world in ballast water for a couple of decades. It was on the radar back in the 1970s. At MEPC 31 in 1991…

Wendy Laursen’s article Getting the Numbers Right, published in the August issue of Maritime Reporter, sparked debate from ballast water management experts. Here Giles Candy of Giles Environmental LLC – Independent Ballast Water Consultant, provides his feedback on the article which outlines the challenges the industry has faced trying to reduce the occurrence of invasive marine species transferred by ballast water.Ballast water is a complex multi-faceted subject with few simple…

Wendy Laursen’s article Getting the Numbers Right, published in the August issue of Maritime Reporter, sparked debate from ballast water management experts. Here Mark Riggio, owner of Simplify Ballast, LLC, provides his feedback on the article which outlines the challenges the industry has faced trying to reduce the occurrence of invasive marine species transferred by ballast water.I felt it was important to speak out about this article for a number of reasons, but mostly because the tone of the article is out of touch with where the industry is heading…

DESMI announced it is now offering advanced ballast water testing, analysis and evaluation services to help shipowners verify the quality of onboard ballast water to comply with the Ballast Water Discharge Standard.The company said it signed a contract with Eurofins Maritime Services, a part of the international group of Eurofins-laboratories, known for its wide range of analytical testing services across various industries, including the marine sector. The contract was finalized on September 4 during the SMM maritime trade show in Hamburg…

It was never going to be realistic to expect treated ballast water to have zero viable organisms on discharge.The G8 guidelines that define the type approval process for ballast water treatment systems were initially agreed at the IMO before any systems had actually been developed.The IMO had already been working on the issue of invasive species being transferred around the world in ballast water for a couple of decades. It was on the radar back in the 1970s. At MEPC 31 in 1991…

ClassNK has granted its Innovation endorsement for products and solutions to a Ship IoT Application ‘i-MITEC’, developed by MIURA.‘i-MITEC’ uses a cloud-based environment to provide a range of services, collecting and storing operation data from equipment such as marine boilers and ballast water management systems that are fitted with communication functionality.The stored data can be used in combination with analysis by MIURA field engineers to provide suggestions for effective operational methods such as preventing trouble.

“Our Ocean - Our Obligation - Our Opportunity” has been selected as the IMO's World Maritime Day theme for 2025, which will culminate in the celebration of World Maritime Day on September 25, 2025.The IMO Council, meeting for its 132nd session, endorsed the theme following a proposal by IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.The theme reflects the ocean’s vital role in the world economy, with more than 80% of global trade transported by sea. The ocean is a source of jobs and food for millions of people…

With the final ballast water deadline fast approaching, UV-based water treatment specialist BIO-UV Group said it anticipates an increase in inspections as Port State Control (PSC) inspectors check machinery installations, crew competencies and Ballast Water Management (BWM) Plans.From September this year, all vessels subject to the BWM Convention must have installed a D-2 compliant ballast water treatment system capable of dealing with the maximum number of viable organisms allowed to be discharged.

Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 Ultra is the latest ballast water management system (BWMS) built on proven PureBallast 3 technology. The system brings new advantages to the market’s most efficient UV treatment solution, from enhanced performance in challenging waters to further power savings and simpler installation. Deliveries of PureBallast 3 Ultra will begin in Q3 2025.“PureBallast 3 Ultra shows that Alfa Laval is here to stay,” sa Peter Sahlén, Head of Alfa Laval PureBallast. “The advances build on 20 years of experience and the thousands of PureBallast 3 systems delivered…

South Korea-based ballast water management system (BWMS) manufacture Techcross has announced its participation at Posidonia 2024, considered one of the largest maritime exhibitions in Europe held in Athens, Greece.This year, over 2,000 companies from around the world are expected to participate in the first week of June. The exhibitors are working hard in preparation aiming to attract nearly 30,000 visitors.Techcross who attends at booth no. 2.424, has arranged an opportunity for consultation on the local training center’s operational plan…

The Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MoU) held its 57th Committee meeting in Madrid from May 6 to 10, 2024 and concluded that the results of the Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on Fire Safety, held from September 1 to November 30, 2023, showed that overall compliance appeared to be satisfactory.The result was less favorable on two specific topics: maintenance of fire doors (9.3 % non-compliance) and performing fire drills (9.2% non-compliance).

U.S. regulators are investigating potential unfair trade practices within pending Canadian regulations governing ballast water management systems of ships in the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes trade.The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on Tuesday said it launched the probe to determine if the pending regulations have a disparate effect on U.S. flagged vessels and constitute a Foreign Shipping Practices violation under 46 U.S.C. Chapter 423.U.S.-based companies operating ships in the…

IACS has published a new recommendation, Rec. 180, for Conducting Commissioning Testing of Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS).Efforts to streamline the implementation of BWM Convention took a significant step forward with IMO’s approval of the “2020 Guidance for the commissioning testing of BWMS" and IACS has now further bolstered these efforts with the development of a comprehensive Recommendation (Rec. 180) to facilitate the smooth, effective and harmonized implementation of commissioning tests requirements in line with the international regulations.The guidance in Rec.

Techcross recently opened the doors for its new training center in Athens, Greece, its 7th training center opened globally in major shipping hubs that offers training on actual equipment.An opening ceremony for the Greece training center, designated as a hub for training in Europe region, was held recently at the newly relocated ARGO NAVIS building. The ceremony was attended by nine representatives, including Park Seog-won, CEO of Techcross, and Ioannis Alevropoulos and Maximous-Ioannis Katsidimas…

Ballast water management systems (BWMS) manufacturer Techcross said it plans to roll out a variety of eco-friendly shipbuilding equipment lineups in addition to the existing BWMS at the Sea Japan 2024 maritime trade show."The optimal solutions provided, based on extensive engineering and installation experience, are expected to not only reduce costs for customers but also contribute to the protection of the Earth’s environment," the South Korean-based company said.Techcross said it will also officially begin sales of HYCHLOR 2.0, a non-filter type indirect electrolysis BWMS that received U.S.

Techcross announced its filterless HYCHLOR 2.0 ballast water management system (BWMS) obtained type approval from the U.S. Coast Guard at the end of January 2024.Techcross' HYCHLOR 2.0 is an updated version of the company's  HYCHLOR 1.0 system, which received USCG type approval in 2020. Notably, the filter had been eliminated in the HYCHLOR 2.0 system.BMWS filters, which play a role in initially filtering out sediment in seawater, have been a source of many AS service issues due to clogging or maintenance troubles.While the absence of filters may raise concerns about disinfection capability…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has issued a statement following the conclusion of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC81) Meeting last week.“We welcome the progress made during these intensive negotiations to achieve net zero emissions from shipping, and the support received from around 60 Member States for a flat rate contribution system per tonne of GHG. The purpose of the proposed system, put forward by the ICS, is to reduce the cost gap and incentivise the accelerated uptake of green marine fuels…