Seeking ballast water certainty

摘要

The US Coast Guard (USCG) announced in April a list of 10 manufacturers of ballast water systems that will serve as a five-year "bridge" for vessel operators seeking to comply with stricter ballast water regulations standards that go into effect between 2014 and 2016, depending on the size of a vessel's ballast water capacity. For some foreign operators, however, the bridge is feeling a bit rickety. The coastguard has not provided a 100 guarantee that, after the five-year testing period, any of the 10 systems that have so far been accepted into its alternative management system (AMS) programme will ultimately be given an approval stamp.