THE Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) has issued a report on a voluntary trial study conducted on shipboard sampling and analysis of ballast water for IMO D-2 compliance, reports London's Tanker Operator.
In July 2014, the MPA hired SGS Testing & Control Services Singapore (SGS) to perform a study of on board sampling and analysis of ballast water for compliance testing within the frame of the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC).
The compliance tests were conducted on six ships identified by MPA.The ballast water sampling system allowed for on board sampling with conditions and sample volumes as close to the IMO regulations as possible.
The analysis methods developed were also executed on board all six ships without major problems and without causing delays to the ships.
For the interpretation of analysis results, the uncertainty of the methods needed to be considered, the MPA said. For this reason, third party laboratories conducted validation tests of the indicative methods developed by SGS.
The detailed analysis methods used found that one of the ships was non-compliant, while the indicative analysis methods used found two ships to be non-compliant.
The ship which was found to be non-compliant using detailed methods was also found to be non-compliant using the indicative methods, which meant it was non-compliant with the D-2 standard.
For the other four ships the results of the indicative analyses were all in the uncertainty range of the method and are therefore reported as "possibly compliant".
It should be noted that the ship, which failed both the indicative and detailed analysis had retained the water inside the ballast tank for only one day.
Furthermore, the ballast water treatment equipment had to be stopped and started a couple of times during the sampling process due to some leakages in the control systems, which needed attention.
The same ballast water treatment equipment was tested on board two other vessels for which the detailed analysis results were compliant.
The conclusions drawn were that the execution of on board sampling and analysis is possible within the time constraints of a vessel loading and unloading while in port.
Five of the six of the BWTS tested were found to be compliant with the D-2 ballast water performance standard. The non-compliant system was suffering from technical problems during sampling.
The indicative methods used provided a false positive for non-compliance, but no false negatives.
There is no validation protocol for sampling and analysis, for example, there is no clear defined sample volumes and no defined minimum number of samples to be collected.
Plankton organisms are sensitive and long transport times can affect viability. Due to this reason, all analyses were conducted immediately on board the vessel where possible.
The technical issues with the equipment and the re-agents used for the indicative analyses were taken into consideration, the MPA said.
PORTS
17 March 2015 - 08:05
Singapore conducts ballast water treatment system tests on voluntary basis
THE Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) has issued a report on a voluntary trial study conducted on shipboard sampling and analysis of ballast water for IMO D-2 compliance, reports London's Tanker Operator.
PORTS
17 March 2015 - 08:05
Singapore conducts ballast water treatment system tests on voluntary basis
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