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Liberia seeks to delay UN's ballast water treatment rule beyond 2020

THE Liberian Maritime Administration seeks to delay the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) implementation of its ballast water treatment requirement until after 2020.

Ballast water drawn aboard empty ships in one ocean and deposited in another can contain invasive species which must be killed before the ballast water is fit to be discharged, say environmentalists.



But Liberia's delay has already attracted support from IMO member states with the Marshall Islands reportedly among those electing to follow Liberia's lead.



It asks IMO's Marine Environmental Protection Committee in London to allow ships time beyond 2020 to install IMO-approved ballast water management systems. 



The proposal, says Liberia, would ensure that enough adequate systems and sufficient dockyard space are available. From September 2017, most ocean-going ships will be required to install a ballast water management (BWM) system approved in accordance with IMO guidelines. 



"But it has emerged that the current IMO guidelines are not sufficiently detailed to ensure that BWM systems have been adequately challenged to provide the required confidence that they will meet the required discharge performance standard, regardless of where a ship may operate," said the Liberia International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) statement.



"The Liberian Administration has identified certain potential limitations," said LISCR vice president David Pascoe. "These have been listed on the Liberian Type Approval Certificate issued to manufacturers, providing shipowners to make informed decisions in connection with BWM systems." 



"The revised approval guidelines are expected to be aligned with the robust regime of the United States, thus establishing a rigorous global standard," he said.



But there are no ballast water management systems currently approved by the US, and it could take several years for equipment approved under the new IMO guidelines to be readily available for installation, said the LISCR statement. 



"In the meantime, tens of thousands of ships may be required to install existing systems that may not fully comply with the convention standards," Mr Pascoe said.



"The compliance dates for ships are linked to the date a ship's International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) certificate is renewed after September 82017. It is by no means certain that adequate new systems will be commercially available in sufficient quantities within this period," he said.



Based on Liberian study, the dockyard capacity to fit systems on board ships will fall well short of peak demand, expected to occur in 2020-2021. 



"It would therefore seem reasonable not to require continued installation of BWM systems which have not been approved under the new guidelines and to allow certain ships additional time beyond 2020 in order to ensure that adequate new systems are commercially available, along with the necessary dockyard space for installation," he said.
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