With COVID-19 restrictions slowly being lifted, Albion Marine resumed attendance to vessel for a 3D scan and BWTS pre-installation surveys. This time, our team traveled to, beautiful post-quarantine, Venice, Italy to attend LNG carrier at Adriatic offshore. The trip went smooth and work has been completed.

Owners and operators require contingency plans for their BWTS as part of their preparations for the October IMO G8 type-approval deadline. The IMO G8 guidelines define the type-approval process for ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) under IMO legislation. The guidelines, also known as the BWMS Code, were originally formulated in 2005. In spring 2018, an amendment to the International Convention for the Management of Ballast Water and Sediments (the BWM Convention) was adopted, where installations of BWMS on or after 28 October 2020 must be type-approved based on the BWMS Code and not the earlier G8 guidelines (MEPC 174(58)). The guidelines were then revised to bring the G8 guidelines in line with the IMO D-2 performance standard. By revising the guidelines to the firmer D-2 standard, the 2016-revised G8 guidelines have moved closed to US Coast Guard (USCG) requirements, but important differences remain. The D-2 standard specifies that ships can only discharge ballast water that meets the following criteria: less than 10 viable organisms per cubic metre which are greater than or equal to 50 micrometres in minimum dimension; less than 10 viable organisms per millilitre which are between 10 micrometres and 50 micrometres in minimum dimension; less than one colony-forming unit (cfu) per 100 millilitres of Toxicogenic Vibrio cholerae; less than 250 cfu per 100 millilitres of Escherichia coli; and less than 100 cfu per 100 milliliters of Intestinal Enterococci. There is a cut-off date after which new buildings and older vessels cannot be retrofitted with BWTS that only conform to the earlier 2008 G8 standards without being penalised. That date, 28 October 2020, is looming fast. After that date, only ballast water systems conforming to the 2016 G8 guidelines will comply with IMO criteria. To put is another way, after this date BWMS approved in accordance with the earlier G8 guidelines must not be installed on board ships.” More information: Riviera Maritime

Gard launched its first sustainability report as part of its commitment to the UN Global Compact. This outlines its ambitions for sustainable development, articulates how impact will be measured and illustrates the wide range of activities being carried out by the group in it day-to-day work placing sustainability at the core of its business. Read the full report: Sustainability Report 2019

South Korea’s Special Act on Air Quality Improvement in Port and Other Areas entered into force on 1 January 2020 as a part of an ongoing national programme to reduce air pollution from shipping and port activities. The act introduces a series of measures, some of which will have direct impact on ships’ operational practices, and we advise ship operators and masters to make note of the following:

New Korean emission control areas

Effective from 1 September 2020, the following South Korean port areas become domestic emission control areas (ECAs):

• Incheon
• Pyeongtaek-Dangjin
• Yeosu-Gwangyang
• Busan
• Ulsan

The maps below have been extracted from the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ announcement on 26 December 2019 (in Korean) and the red lines in the maps indicate the extent of the ECA in each port.

More information: Gard