The IMO’s ballast water management convention (BWMC) has met its entry-into-force requirement following ratification by Finland.

Compliance with the BWMC will become mandatory from September next year.

All newbuildings will need treatment systems fitted and existing vessels will have to meet the requirements at the first statutory dry docking after the entry-into-force date.

IMO secretary general Kitak Lim described the development as “a truly significant milestone for the health of our planet.”

However, there are still some concerns in the industry over the BWMC.

Shipowners have pointed out that the IMO’s G8 type approval for equipment is not aligned with the stricter type approval of the United States' ballast water regulation.

This could mean that some IMO approved equipment will not be recognised in the US.

The two leading international shipowner associations lost no time in reacting to the news.

International Chamber of Shipping chairman Ebsen Poulsson said: “We must ensure that shipowners can have absolute confidence that the expensive equipment they will soon have to install will be effective in treating ballast water conditions normally encountered during worldwide operations and be regarded as fully compliant during Port State Control inspections.”

Bimco deputy secretary general Lars Robert Pederson said: “BIMCO is deeply concerned about the prospect of our members having to install treatment systems now which later may not be approved for use in US waters.

"This is because the US has not yet approved treatment systems that comply to its own, more stringent, national standards.”

Intertanko ‘cautiously welcomes’

Intertanko issued a chary statement with regard to the new regulations, saying it “cautiously welcomes” the BWMC’s entry into force.

Likewise, it urged its members to “remain focused and cautious in the months ahead” on to how to best proceed with installing ballast water systems.

Intertanko managing director Katharina Stanzel said that while the BWMC provides some direction forward for shipowners in terms of future investments, the IMO still needs to finalise its testing standards for ballast equipment, the G-8 type approvals.

“In practical terms this development provides certainty for owners with a firm date now in place from which installation and dry docking schedules can be determined,” Stanzel said.

“However, this must be balanced against the fact that the IMO has yet to complete its work on reviewing and revising the G-8 type approval guidelines for ballast water management systems.”

It said that tanker owners will have to install a ballast water management system at their first renewal survey after 8 September 2017. Newbuildings for delivery after that date will need to have a ballast water management system in place.

Intertanko’s US director Joe Angelo highlighted the problems for shipowners with vessels trading in US waters. The lack of any US Coast Guard-approved ballast water system and the disparate testing standards between the USCG and the IMO over the efficacy of ballast treatment systems means that shipowners still face uncertain investment decisions.

The USCG is providing a five-year waiver for any pre-installed ballast water system that might not eventually win USCG approval. But Angelo notes that shipowners might wind up investing twice in a ballast water system.

“The early ratification adds a further complication when considering the lack of availability of any USCG type approved systems,” Angelo said. “This situation puts owners at the risk of having to install an IMO type approved system that may never achieve USCG type approval.”