Onboard potable water test kit for MLC regulations
According to the company, the existing guidelines on the provision of drinking water at sea are well-intentioned, but largely ineffective because they vary widely, making implementation and enforcement difficult. As from August 2013, they will be replaced by a single standard under MLC 2006 – Standard A3.2, Food and Catering, paragraph 7 of which states that “the competent authority shall require that frequent documented inspections be carried out on board ships, by or under the authority of the master, with respect to….supplies of drinking water”.
The associated WHO guides recommend testing for: E. coli or coliforms; chlorine residual (daily); microbial quality, bacterial plate count; pH (daily); turbidity; and corrosion-related contaminants, iron and copper. Martek claims that its Drinksafe kit is able to carry out all these tests, so is the only standard kit guaranteed to meet all legislation and flag state requirements. It has been designed for ease of use, robustness, light weight and simple storage, and to provide effective testing for the presence of harmful bacteria and toxins, corrosion related contaminants and pH/Chlorine levels. It does not require calibration, and does not use glass ampoules or sample bags. It is supplied with multi-language instructional videos and simple-use diagrams. It contains sufficient for 2,000 tests, enough to last a year onboard one vessel. This, says Martek, provides a cost per test that more than 50% lower than the closest comparative test kit.
The company says that growth of bacteria and toxins in a ship’s water supply can be promoted by limited flow rate, tank or pipe corrosion, alkalinity or acidity and temperature. Often, these problems occur together, accelerating the growth of bacteria. As the growth of bacteria worsens these issues, gases such as carbon dioxide are produced, which reacts with the water to increase acidity, resulting in more corrosion. The importance of avoiding bacteria is, says Martek, heightened on a vessel which could be days from the nearest port and for which delays or route changes for medical assistance could cost thousands of dollars.
Drinksafe is used to take one sample directly from the water tank and another at the furthest point from the tank. Water quality is recorded in the supplied test log book which can be used for Port State Control or flag state inspections.
