A top civilian official with the US Coast Guard (USCG) says it plans to step up enforcement of its ballast water discharge rules, now that USCG-approved treatment gear is on the market.

Jeffrey Lantz, director of regulations and standards, said the USCG will be less generous with in granting extensions to shipowners for installing type-approved ballast treatment gear or otherwise meeting US ballast discharge rules.

"We granted extensions routinely," Lantz told attendees at the Connecticut Maritime Association Shipping 2017 meeting. But ships will now face a "burden on why they can't comply with regulations."

An estimated 11,000 ships have applied for extensions, largely based on the lack of USCG-approved ballast treatment gear at the time of the vessel's last dry dock.

Now that three systems are on the market, with a fourth system in the process of receiving USCG approval, Lantz says shipowners will have to show why any of the available systems will not work on their vessels.

If granted, extensions will not be valid until the next drydock date. Lantz says it is possible for owners to install ballast treatment gear while the ship is in operation, so drydock schedules will no longer necessarily be determinant of when a ship must comply.

"We will grant a very short extension," Lantz said.

"We need to incentivise compliance," Lantz said. "We are trying to push compliance."

Compliance dates for meeting US ballast discharge rules coincide with the ship's next drydocking. Lantz said ships with compliance dates in 2018 that have not already received extensions will need to start applying now.

Ships with compliance dates starting in 2021 will likely not receive extensions, Lantz says.

He says enforcement will also be stepped up in the interim. Lantz says common violations include expired extensions for compliance, non-working ballast treatment systems and vessels just straight discharging untreated ballast water in US waters.

"We are ramping up compliance and enforcement in the field." Lantz said.

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