1. As shipowners grapple with rising fuel prices and the cost of compliance with the looming 2020 sulphur cap, the legislative requirement to fit expensive ballast water management (BWM) systems will leave many stuck between a financial rock and a hard place. Installation costs for BWM systems are considerable, with estimates ranging from about USD500,000 to USD3 million, and rising in line with the ship's size. Lifetime running costs related to consumables, spare parts, and monitoring to ensure that systems are functioning and compliant is even higher. If that is not enough to put off owners from making a purchase, there are concerns over the technical performance of some systems that are already in use, even those with type-approval, and confusion over delayed International Maritime Organization (IMO) deadlines for implementation. The IMO Ballast Water Management Convention came into force in September 2017, but delays mean most vessels are now required to have a system installed by 8 September 2019.
展开▼
