IMO approval for ballast water management system
The Aquarius® EC has been granted basic approval by the IMO
Aquarius® EC is a modular ballast water management system, providing a safe, flexible and economical process for the treatment of ballast water, achieved through a simple and efficient two stage process, the company said. Upon uptake the sea water is first passed through a back washing filter (first Stage) and then the filtered sea water passes through a static mixer, where the disinfectant generated from the side stream electrolysis unit (second stage) is injected to ensure a maximum level of 10 ppm in the treated ballast water.
During discharge the filter is bypassed and residual concentration of Total Residual Oxidants (TRO) in treated ballast water is monitored before being discharged overboard. If required, treated ballast water is neutralised by injecting sodium bisulfite into the main ballast line during discharge. Neutralisation effectiveness is continuously monitored to ensure compliance with MARPOL discharge limits.
The initial application for approval was submitted to the IMO through the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) and was reviewed by the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environment Protection (GESAMP) ballast water working group.
Gaining IMO basic approval is the first step towards full IMO type approval, and focuses on the fundamentals of the technology including toxicity and environmental impact. The next stage, IMO final approval, examines full scale prototype test data and requires supporting documentation on aspects such as risk and safety to the ship, crew, general public and the environment.
Application for final approval was submitted to the IMO immediately following the endorsement of basic approval by MEPC-64. A key element of the final submission was an investigation on the impact of the treated ballast water on uncoated and coated materials typically used in marine and offshore construction. This comprehensive package of information was reviewed by ILT and Dutch experts before submission. Final approval is expected to be endorsed at MEPC-65 in 2013, having successfully completed the mandatory review by GESAMP. IMO type approval is expected shortly thereafter.
