Following the first United States Coast Guard (USCG) Type Approval to Optimarin’s Ballast Water Management System (BWMS), the USCG has released an update to its Ballast Water Management (BWM) Extension Program via its Marine Safety Information Bulletin.
The statement says that any owner requesting an extension on the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention must provide the Coast Guard with an explicit statement and documentary evidence, for example, a delay in the commercial availability of the BWMS, to prove that installation of the type approved system is not possible to meet the regulatory implementation schedule.
Additional documentation in support of extension request include:
- Written correspondence between the owner/operator and the applicable BWMS manufacturer that confirm BWMS are not available for installation on that particular vessel or class of vessels until after the compliance date.
- Vessel design limitations with type approved BWMS currently available.
- Safety concerns related to installing type approved systems currently available.
- Any other situation that may preclude a vessel from being fitted with a type approved system.
The extension letters will remain valid until the extended compliance date specified in the extension letter. An extension to the vessel’s compliance may be granted where the ship owner cannot comply with the regulation, despite all efforts and is able to document that compliance is not possible. They will then have to employ one of the approved BWM methods specified by the USCG.
The Marine Safety Information Bulletin update can be accessed by clicking here.
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