Japanese chemical manufacturing company Kurray has won type approval from the US Coast Guard for its ballast water management system.
Kuraray MICROFADE II Ballast Water Treatment System consists of filtration with chemical injection treatment at uptake and neutralization during discharge.
This approval covers six models with maximum treatment rated capacities between 250 m 3 /h and 2,000 m 3 /h.
The system can be installed on all types of ships, and features low power consumption. It is designed to use freshwater, brackish water and seawater.
The system does not require the installation of any particular kind of tank, due to the utilization of solid chemical agents that can be stored at room temperature.
As explained by its developer, the system capacity is not affected by turbidity, salinity or quality of water.
This is the 34th U.S. Coast Guard Ballast Water Management System Type Approval Certificate issued by the port state control.
The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention) entered into force on September 8, 2017.
The measure aims to stop the spread of potentially invasive aquatic species in ships’ ballast water requires vessels to manage their ballast water to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments.
Aside from the IMO, the US Coast Guard has developed its own regulations on ballast water treatment, hence, ships calling the United States ports are required to install BWMS with USCG type approval.