Type Approval Tests of Ballast Water Management Systems, What Have We Learned in >10 Years Testing

Abstract

This chapter highlights the challenges involved in the type approval testing of Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS). IMO required such tests with its Guidelines G8. This guideline was prepared with best efforts during substantial debates, but in practice, some requirements turned out not to be relevant, and other important aspects were found to be missing. It was concluded at IMO that the Guidelines G8 requirements do not represent enough challenging test conditions to represent all waters where ballast water is taken up by vessels. Therefore, BWMS which have received type approval under the previous Guidelines G8 may be found non-compliant if BWMS is operated in more challenging water conditions as the system was exposed to during the tests. MEPC67 (October 2014) agreed that Guidelines G8 should be revised. The revision process ended at MEPC70 in October 2016. In further discussions, BWM Convention Contracting Governments expressed the view that the new Guidelines G8 should not have a voluntary or recommending nature but should become a mandatory instrument. Therefore, the language in this guideline was edited accordingly and it was renamed as a code, i.e., Code for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS Code). This book chapter describes the Guidelines G8/BWMS Code editing suggestions of the authors, which were based on their long-lasting experience in testing BWMS, and it continues to describe the agreed BWMS Code amendments. Independently of IMO work, the United States Coast Guard established their own BWMS test guidelines. The differences of these guidelines compared to the BWMS Code are also discussed, and recommendations are suggested to improve the test regime to make BWMS more fit for purpose.