Ferry operators welcome BWM convention move

In a joint submission with Denmark, Interferry argued that ballast water management systems were irrelevant for ships continuously operating in the same body of water, such as between the UK and Ireland. The MEPC responded by agreeing that one of its sub-committees should further consider the issue – including how appropriate operators could obtain an exemption certificate.

The case for exemptions has mainly been voiced by North Sea and Baltic countries, but last week the governments of Croatia and Singapore also raised their concerns with MEPC.

Interferry’s director of regulatory affairs Johan Roos said: “This is a very welcome step in the light of mounting concerns by short sea operators in general and ferry operators in particular. We recognise the need to act on the movement of invasive species between geographical areas where natural spread does not occur, but in our view there is no added value to the environment by destroying organisms that may spread naturally.”

A week before the MEPC meeting, Mr Roos flagged the problem at Interferry’s annual conference in Vancouver, warning: “We may end up in a situation where you have a three mile crossing between Denmark and Sweden and have to invest half a million Euros on equipment to kill off organisms in the same water.”