The United State Coast Guard (USCG) is taking a harder line on delays to installing ballast treatment gear, saying owners have to offer more evidence as to why their ships cannot use products that are currently the market.
The updated guidelines published this week come in "response to hundreds of extension requests" for installing ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) gear.
USCG rules require that ships with high ballast pumping rates built before 2014 have to show compliance with US ballast water rules by their first dry dock date after 1 January 2016.
But due to the lack of any USCG-approved BWTS gear and the high cost of other compliance measures such as pumping ballast water to onshore treatment, owners were allowed to extend those compliance dates to next dry dock date. Some 11,500 vessels have received such extensions, according to the USCG.
Now that three BWTS products have won USCG approval, owners face a tougher time getting further extensions on installing ballast gear. Owners will have to submit their extension request 12 to 18 months prior to their compliance date.
For vessels that have a compliance deadline of 31 December 2018, owners have to "provide a justification" as to why it cannot they cannot use one of the approved BWTS products or other ballast treatment procedures for complying with ballast treatment rules.
Owners that can use one of the approved BWTS products, but cannot meet their compliance deadline due to dry dock or product availability will need to submit a plan for meeting compliance.
Owners that cannot use any of the USCG-approved BWTS must still submit a plan for meeting compliance at a future date.
"Any extension request will be bolstered if the vessel owner/operator demonstrates an understanding of how to match the operating profile of their vessel to the operating profile of a Coast Guard type approved (ballast water management system)," the USCG said.
"Where installation of an approved system is not reasonable, the Coast Guard would like to see a detailed analysis of how the owner/operator intends to match the vessel with an approved (ballast treatment system) at a future date before considering any extension request."
Ships that have a compliance deadline of between 2019 and 2020 will need to start submitting requests for extensions starting this coming June with regard to extensions on complying. The USCG said ships with a compliance date in 2021 will not likely receive extensions and owners "should plan to be in compliance."
