USCG AMS approval for Hyde and RWO ballast systems

According to Hyde, a subsidiary of Calgon Carbon Corporation, AMS approval is a first step to achieving full USCG Type Approval and is an interim measure that allows AMS-approved BWTS to be used on ships for a five year period. This period is designed to allow the BWTS manufacturer to obtain full US type approval; after this time the vessel must comply with the USCG Ballast Water Discharge Standards. Most vessels operating in US waters with ballast capacities between 1,500m³/h and 5,000m³/h will be required to meet USCG Standards by the time of their first major drydocking after 1 January 2014.

RWO says that ANMS approval is considered to be the crucial supporting requirement for future purchasing decisions of shipowners and yards.

Both the Hyde Guardian and RWO CleanBallast systems now have USCG AMS certification, two of the first BWTS to have achieved this.

Martyn Ayris, managing director of RWO said: “The AMS is a very important certificate for us. Being chosen by USCG as one of the first companies to receive it again confirms the technical refinement of our CleanBallast system and demonstrates that our two-stage treatment concept with its advanced process steps is a mature technology – providing the necessary reliability to make owners and their fleets ready for future challenges.”

Hyde Marine points out that to receive AMS approval from USCG, a BWTS must have been previously type approved by a foreign administration in accordance with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, and the Coast Guard must find the testing performed on the system credible.

The Hyde Guardian is a chemical-free system, featuring mechanical separation with stacked-disc filtration followed by UV disinfection, and was one the first systems to receive IMO Type Approval, and the first BWTS accepted into the USCG Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program.

Hyde Marine president John Platz said: “With the release of the US Coast Guard’s final ballast water regulation and along with the pending ratification of the IMO BWM Convention, ship owners are on a strict timeline to install proven BWT technology to bring their vessels into compliance. The USCG’s determination that the Hyde Guardian system is a viable AMS solution validates our ongoing commitment to help the maritime industry achieve ballast water treatment compliance.”