EU Equipment Manufacturers Affected by BWM Convention Delay

Postponement of entry into force of the obligatory requirements set out in the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention has had a detrimental impact on European maritime technology manufacturers, SEA Europe association said.

Namely, European manufacturers that have invested time and resources into the development of BWM systems have, over time, seen their ‘first mover’ positions being eroded by the time lag created by the slowness of ratification of the Convention. Consequently it has been reported in recent years that a number of manufacturers could disengage from the market because of lack of return on investment.

According to SEA Europe, the majority of operators have not proactively taken up retrofit packages that enable compliance at yards that offer these options. Therefore a weakness is emerging that operators, system integrators and manufacturers are not receiving the necessary feedback to improve and innovate the systems, which have been developed.

Dry-docking of vessels is seen as the preferred method for retrofitting BWM systems. Given the implementation time of the Convention and the already existing requirements that all vessels need to be dry-docked usually every 5-years according to their schedules. Thus, there is ample time and capacity to retrofit the necessary vessels globally. The relevant skills and competencies for the dry- docking and retrofitting of BWM systems are available in European yards within the dry- docking packages offered.

“The lack of a BWM market as a result of the Convention on yet ratified is causing a ‘chicken or egg’ scenario when it comes to hardware availability. Nevertheless 51 BWM systems have already been granted type approval. It can therefore be anticipated that the production capacity of BWM manufacturers will rapidly increase once the market ‘takes off’. No manufacturer will, however, have surplus equipment on standby as long as there is no demand for the product,” SEA Europe said.

For new-buildings there is a phase in approach adopted whereby the BWM system has been included in the design with the final system to be installed upon ratification of the Convention. Thereby allowing operators to purchase the most suitable technology when the time is right.

“SEA Europe is in favour of not penalizing early movers and supports the development of exemptions for first generation systems that have been installed before entry in to force. The term first movers should include both shipowners and BWM system manufacturers. Ships  with  competently  operated,  well  maintained  and  potentially  upgraded/retrofitted systems that may exceed discharge standards under certain conditions and below limits that are  harmful  to  the  environment  should  not  be  detained.  Manufacturers  should  not  be penalized by re-certification or eventual modification of well performing BWM systems,” the association added.

SEA Europe noted that it would support that the European Union fosters the retrofitting of green technologies through an ‘Innovative Financing Tool’ coupled with the EU wide implementation of the BWM Convention requirements.

European operators could receive incentives to retrofit the required technologies at European yards.  SEA Europe is of the opinion that owners/operators need better information when making purchasing decisions and its membership will support this goal. High quality equipment will offer better investment protection and resale value in the future whilst meeting the requirements of the BWM Convention.