Lloyds manages Coldharbour’s BWMS testing

LR has independent laboratory approval from the USCG and will work closely in the type approval tests with Marine Eco Analytics (MEA), a test laboratory in the Netherlands.

Coldharbour chief executive, Andrew Marshall, said: “We were extremely impressed with the type approval process conducted jointly with Lloyd’s Register and the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency when we undertook the original tests required for IMO approval.

“MEA now has suitable accreditation from the USCG so we can proceed with the USCG testing protocols.”

Coldharbour chose to partner with MEA because its location provides a ready supply of sea water from the North Sea and brackish water from the Wadden Sea.

This, said Mr Marshall, guaranteed that tests would cover all types of water which ships could encounter. The facility carries out its tests using natural water collected by barges, meaning that samples contain natural fauna and flora rather than seeded or farmed organisms which often have different survivability characteristics.

In a bid to ensure a fault-free testing system, Coldharbour estimates it will begin the testing process in April, when the correct number of naturally occurring marine organisms – 100,000 per tonne of water – are found in the waters of the Wadden Sea and North Sea.

The full range of land tests required in the USCG type approval process is expected to take approximately five months.