USCG certifies Korean Register for BWM testing

KR will be able to type approve BWMS in accordance with the US Code of Federal Regulation. Vessels operating in US territorial waters must be fitted with systems that are USCG type approved (or have temporary Alternate Management Systems approval) in accordance with their implementation schedule, separately from the requirements of the forthcoming IMO convention governing BWMS.

KR said: “USCG’s particular approval requires a high level of ability within the independent laboratory and involves the passing of at least five valid and successful test repetitions at differing levels of salinity during land-based testing; and a higher standard of sampling and analysis.”

This is an important step for KR, not least because – as the society notes – “USCG requirements are more onerous than those demanded by IMO and are expected to become the benchmark for BWM systems”.

As an example of that more stringetn criteria, IMO’s G8 (D-2) does not specify a discharge limit on organisms under 10µm. USCG’s Phase II standard (although it remains under review) imposes a limit of 1,000 bacteria and 10,000 viruses per 100ml. Criteria for water quality and test organism conditions are also notably more onerous.

Harmonising testing and approval criteria will be in focus again this month, at the next meeting of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee, where an interim report on the implementation of G8 guidelines is to be presented. The report is likely to take into consideration how the guidelines can be reconciled with USCG’s standards.

There is also the simple fact that USCG’s Ballast Water Management Discharge Standards (USCG, 33 CFR part 151) are already in effect, as of 21 June 2012. Ships built on or after 1 December 2013 must all comply, while for ships built before that date, a timeline based on ballast water capacity is in place: vessels with a capacity of 1,500-5,000m3 must comply by their first drydocking after 1 January 2014, while those with smaller or greater capacities must comply by the first drydocking after 1 January 2016.

Korean Register will work with a consortium of laboratories on the project. The Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute (KOMERI) will conduct land-based and shipboard tests of systems, while component tests will be carried out by KOMERI, Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) and SGS Giehung Lab. Korea Testing & Research Institute and the Marine Eco-Technology Institute will be contracted for chemical analysis and Whole Effluent Toxicity testing respectively.