AN online risk assessment tool has been developed for shortsea operators in North Europe hoping to gain an exemption from costly ballast water treatment systems, reports London's Lloyd's List.
Soon rules will into come into force obliging shipowners to install expensive equipment that will prevent potentially invasive flora and fauna being transferred from one eco-system to another.
New rules from the UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO), include exemptions for vessels operating within single eco-systems.
The online tool was developed by two bodies, the Helsinki Commission (Helcom) of nine Baltic states working on environmental problems, and Ospar, a 15-state body, doing the same in northeast Atlantic and North Sea.
The online tool lists 665 potential species of flora and fauna that need to be assessed. Exemptions will be issued by the state where the ship is sailing and will be. It is limited time and not valid if a vessel shifts trade.
An additional deterrent is the potential costs of gaining an exemption, which may include additional biological and environmental testing to determine risks of invasive species.
Forty-one countries have ratified the ballast water rule, or said they will, representing 32.5 per cent of the global fleet. Countries representing less than 2.5 per cent now need to sign before it comes into force a year later.
When in force, shipowners around the world will have until a vessel's next regular survey docking to have a treatment system installed.
The huge cost of the equipment, as well as necessary engineering costs, have led some owners to suggest that older vessels may be scrapped, especially as they will soon have to be compliant with other eco rules too.
WORLD SHIPPING
17 August 2014 - 21:25
Ballast water exemptions for ships within single European eco-system
AN online risk assessment tool has been developed for shortsea operators in North Europe hoping to gain an exemption from costly ballast water treatment systems, reports London's Lloyd's List.
WORLD SHIPPING
17 August 2014 - 21:25
Ballast water exemptions for ships within single European eco-system
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