the IHS Ballast Water Guide - RWO Marine Water Technology

IHS Fairplay Solutions Guide to Ballast Water Treatment Systems Sponsored by
Stricter rules in the USA
The IMO’s Ballast Water Convention will
eventually apply to most of the world, but
some countries have indicated that they may
set their own rules and a few have already
done so in advance of the ratifi cation of the
IMO convention. The convention is intended
to apply globally, but separate though similar
legislation is making its way through the US
legal system.
The USA adopted a unique set of rules
governing both its own fl agged ships and
foreign vessels in US ports and within the
country’s territorial waters. These contained
diff erences from the discharge standards
in the IMO regulations. Under United
States federal rules a two-phase system was
proposed. In the fi rst phase, the quality
standards were to be much the same as the
IMO convention standards. The second phase,
however, originally proposed for introduction
in 2016, set far more stringent and highly
controversial water standards.
An example of the diff erence between
the US Phase 2 and IMO convention rules
was the standard for living organisms larger
than 50μm. While the IMO (and US Phase 1)
standards require fewer than 10 organisms
per cubic metre of ballast, US Phase 2 rules
set a maximum of one organism/100m 3 .
In November 2011, after individual US
states threatened to impose their own
requirements, federal lawmakers approved
a single nationwide ballast water discharge
standard that conforms to performance
standards set by the IMO. The Commercial
Vessel Discharges Reform Act of 2011 was
approved by the US House of Representatives
on 13 October. It had to pass a vote in the
Senate before it could be signed into law.
The legislation amends the federal Clean
Water Act by prohibiting the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) from permitting
individual states to impose requirements on
top of federal standards. The act also requires
the US Coast Guard (USCG) to set a schedule
for vessel owners to install ballast water
treatment technology that has been certifi ed
to the new standard.
All ships entering US waters must comply
with the vessel general permit (VGP),
which sets out best practices, training and
documentation rules for 26 incidental vessel
discharges, including ballasting, deck runoff ,
bilgewater and greywater. Its regulators
include the US Coast Guard and the EPA.
Alleging that the VGP violated the Clean
Water Act by failing to regulate ballast
Phase 1: Implementation schedule for Phase 1 ballast-water management programme
Ballast-water capacity (m 3 ) Construction date Compliance date
New vessels (all capacities) On or after 1 December 2013 On delivery
Existing vessels < 1,500 Before 1 December 2013 First drydocking after 1 Jan 2016
Existing vessels 1,500–5,000 Before 1 December 2013 First drydocking after 1 Jan 2014
Existing vessels > 5,000 Before 1 December 2013 First drydocking after 1 Jan 2016
8 © IHS Global Limited 2012
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