This approval came a few months after the CompactClean BWMS received IMO type approval and means that the system is now approved for worldwide operation.
The approval is valid for all salinities and seawater temperatures, and has no requirement for a special operating mode in US Territory.
Rasmus Folsø, DESMI Ocean Guard CEO, explained: “It is a significant achievement that the CompactClean system does not need a special US operation mode to meet the USCG requirements in US territory. With just one operation mode used globally, there is no need for knowing the de-ballast location at the time of ballast uptake, in order to determine if the BWMS should be operated in IMO or US mode. Likewise, there are no issues related to mixing IMO and USCG treated ballast water when water is treated in one mode during ballast operation, but then pumped to a tank with remains of water treated in another mode.
“Mixing of ballast water treated in different modes is also a concern when water is moved internally from tank to tank during a voyage to compensate for consumed fuel. All of these issues represent serious complications to the ship operator when using BWMS that must be switched to one operation mode in US and another in the rest of the world (IMO).
“With CompactClean we have managed to solve this. Furthermore, we have managed to keep the power consumption at a minimum by incorporating automatic dimming of UV lamps when the water conditions permit,” he said.
Furthermore, the CompactClean BWMS has recently been approved according to ATEX and IECEx requirements for installation in hazardous zones on eg, oil and chemical tankers, and this is also expected to be added to both IMO and USCG Type Approval certificates soon.
In addition, the USCG Marine Safety Center received its 24th application for BWMS type approval for the EcoBallast Ballast Water Management System manufactured by Hyundai Heavy Industries.