Green Ship Technology Conference
Rotterdam March 11-12th 2008
Water Ballast Tank regulations
IMO BWMS Convention
IMO PSPC SOLAS regulations
Some challenges and concerns for Water Ballast Tank Coatings
Rodney Towers C.Eng., MRINA
Safinah Limited
SOLAS regulations
Objective to raise the long term performance
standards of WB tank coating systems
Coatings to be performance tested and Type
approved
Surface preparation standards raised
Much increased QC during application
Shipbuilders to create a Coatings Technical File
for ship on delivery
Increased cost for shipbuilders & paint makers
Ballast Water Management Convention
Objective to prevent environmental damage
arising from the transport of harmful aquatic
organisms from one sea region to another
New technologies required for on board
treatment of SW ballast
Testing procedures required for acceptability
of Active substances induced or added in
treatment process
Testing procedures required to confirm
efficacy of treatment process
Ballast Water Management Convention
No specific requirement for treatment
technologies to be tested against WBT
coatings
No clear requirement which supports the long
term WBT coating performance objective of
SOLAS regulations
Ballast Water Management Convention
BWMS systems should be tested for their
corrosivity to other materials in a WB tank
this implies tank coating materials
BUT there are no guidelines for such coating
tests
AND coatings do not corrode
Ballast Water Management Convention
Current status of ratification after 4 years
11 nations representing 3.6% of tonnage
requirement for ratification
30 nations representing 35% of tonnage
Norway & Spain are the only marine heavyweights
There is a long way to go
Ballast Water Management Convention
Main reasons for slow progress
Many States unwilling to ratify ahead of some
BWMS product choice for their shipowners
Other reasons
Convention will not apply to large ships until
2012 – long way off in Greek shipping terms
In US, the USCG claim no legal authority to act
until Congress approves appropriate Act with
consequential problem for US manufacturers
BWMS approval process
Flag State Administrations
decide if BWMS proposals use Active
substances or not
make application to IMO if G9 Basic Approval
of any Active substance required
manage the evaluation of BWMS for efficacy
make application to IMO for Final Approval
are the authority to issue Type Approval Cert.
BWMS approval process
IMO will
initiate Basic Approval through GESAMP
grant Basic Approval of acceptability of Active
substance in BWMS
issue Final Approval of Active substance after
positive technical evaluation of BWMS by F/S
Admin
BWMS approval process
Important to understand that IMO
do not involve with G8 approval procedures
Basic & Final Approvals concern the Active
substances
Approvals are not for the efficacy of the BWMS
do not monitor or collate any list of Type
Approval Certificates as issued by F/S Admins
BWMS approval process
Information from BWMS manufacturers
IMO guidelines require multitude of tests
duration of tests 18-24 months, even longer
facilities of a whole lab may be needed
cost of testing may be too high for small
companies
process slow and hugely expensive
BWMS technologies
BWMS technologies fall into 2 categories
systems using mostly physical actions
systems using chemical additives
Summary table
Technology
Action
Approval
process
IMO
Basic
IMO
Final
Type
Approval
Coating
tests
de-oxygenation
physical
G8
not
req
not
req
yes
yes
light source
physical
G9
yes
yes
expect
mid 08
no
cavitation +
de-oxygenation +
electro disinfection
physical
G9
yes
expect
end 08
pending
yes ?
hydroclonic filtration +
biodegradeable chem
physical
+ chem
G9
yes
imminent
pending
yes
ozone injection +
electrolysis
physical
G9
Yes
no info
no info
split pipe + ozone
physical
G9
yes
no info
no info
electro-disinfection
physical
+ chem
G9
yes
no info
no info
electrolysis of s/water
physical
no info
BWMS technologies
effect on coatings
Concerns about WBT coating integrity
Change in BW composition after treatment
Testing procedures for coating integrity
Change in pH
BWMS technologies
effect on coatings
Concerns are
Coatings are permeable
Risk is that chemicals either induced by physical
treatments or by addition will create a new
composition of BW which might be too
aggressive for a WBT coating
Soluble gases, hydroxyl, chloride, bromate,
hydrobromous ions, hydrogen peroxide and
peracetic acids are all Active substances
BWM Convention
Responsibilities for testing
Current situation
F/S Admin responsible for deciding G8 or G9
approval procedure of BWMS
BWMS maker responsible for all testing required
for G8 & G9 procedures
IMO responsible for providing the Guidelines
No Guidelines for BWMS makers about how to
test their systems against WBT coating systems
Challenges raised
for Coating Manufacturers
SOLAS PSPC
– development of new technology coatings to assist
shipbuilders regain productivity lost due IMO regulations
BWM
– some BWMS induce, give rise to or use various
chemicals which can be aggressive to epoxy coatings
– purity of inert gas generated
– oxygen depletion
– caution needed with hypochlorites, chlorides, hydroxyls,
hydrogen peroxide, hydrobromous and peracetic acids
– need to know PSPC Type approved coatings will not be
damaged
Challenges raised
for BWMS Manufacturers
need for Guidelines on what and how to test
their systems against PSPC Type approved
WBT coatings
additional testing costs seem likely
responsibility for testing will be for makers
Shipbuilders guarantee requirements likely to
include no long term negative effects on WBT
coating systems used by yard ( will include
shop primer)
Challenges raised
for Shipbuilders
could benefit financially from new technology coatings
which help to regain productivity lost due PSPC regs
production issues may lead shipyards to conclude WBT
coatings need to become a yard supply item - as shop
primer
under shipyard control, can new warranty terms, longer
than 12 months, for WBT coating systems be developed ?
Shipbuilders likely to make severe warranty demands on
BWMS suppliers before accepting their supply
Challenges raised
for IMO
Amendment to BWM Convention needed which
will link with and support PSPC long term
performance objectives for WBT coating systems
terminology used for approvals in BWM
Convention is confusing
no composite list of BWMS Type Approvals is
readily available
- F/States and Class likely to have some
need to access this info
- who can provide this?