One in three ballast water systems fail to make the grade

Shocking figures revealed by Global TestNet, an association of testing organisations set up in 2010 under the GloBallast Partnership and which provided information to the IMO’s MEPC 82 meeting recently, indicate the scale of the failure.

Under the D-2 standard of the BMW Convention, which finally entered fully into force on September 8, treated ballast water must container no more than ten viable organisms of 50 microns or more per cubic metre. But a large number of BWMS are registering more than ten times the number – more than a hundred per cubic metre. Global TestNet revealed that up to 44% of systems failed to meet the standard.

Charlène Ceresola is BIO-UV Group’s BWT Project Manager. She is participating in the BWM Convention Review as a member of the French delegation to the IMO Ballast Water Review Group.

“These results show that even if a vessel with a type-approved ballast water treatment system passes initial commissioning tests, the BWM system alone cannot assure against non-compliance,” she said. “When a BWMS is properly installed, a high efficacy in removing organisms is achieved (99,9%) but IMO MEPC reports have acknowledged that this efficacy may not be sufficient to constantly meet the D-2 discharge standard.

“Compliance tests often fail due to the presence of organisms in the tank or water contamination. If operators do not fully understand the impacts of Ballast Water Management on board, and if bypassing cleaning procedures for ballast tanks occurs frequently, non-compliance will be unavoidable,” she explained.

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The most common reasons for non-compliance were contamination of the ballast water tank from mixing treated and untreated waters or opening/closing valves incorrectly; organism regrowth resulting poor or infrequent cleaning of tanks; and human error through a lack of knowledge, maintenance systems, and training.

The most frequent deficiencies reported by the Paris MoU on Port State control were poor ballast water record-keeping and administration (58%), ballast water system knowledge (16%) and certification (17%).

Last year, the Paris MoU reported 907 non-compliance deficiencies resulting in 33 ship detentions. So far this year, 505 deficiencies have been reported, with 17 ship detentions.

Ceresola said: “We are encouraging BIO-SEA system operators to refer to the new guidance on ballast water record-keeping and reporting (due to enter into force on 1 February 2025), published in BWM.2/Circ. 80 to safeguard against port delays and detentions. While there remains a two-year grace period for treatment performance issues, ships can still be delayed for poor administration.”

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