Greentech Lead America: Calgon Carbon Corporation (CCC) announced that its Hyde GUARDIAN Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS), developed and manufactured by its wholly owned subsidiary, Hyde Marine, has earned Alternate Management System (AMS) approval from the United States Coast Guard (USCG).
AMS approval is the first step to achieving full USCG Type Approval and is an interim measure that allows a BWTS to be used on a vessel for five years after the vessel is required to comply with the USCG Ballast Water Discharge Standards.
The five-year period is designed to allow the BWTS manufacturer sufficient time to obtain U.S. Type Approval and to ensure the ship operator’s compliance with U.S. ballast water regulations.
Most vessels operating in U.S. waters with ballast capacities between 1500 m³/hr and 5000 m³/hr will be required to meet USCG Ballast Water Discharge Standards by the time of their first major drydocking after January 1, 2014.
“Ship owners and operators seeking to mitigate downtime and ensure timely vessel compliance are encouraged to place orders for BWT systems now before the supply of accepted systems becomes strained,” said John Platz, vice president, Hyde Marine.
To receive AMS approval from the Coast Guard, a BWTS must have been previously type approved by a foreign administration in accordance with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, and the Coast Guard must find the testing performed on the system credible.
Hyde Marine has more than 100 years experience in the maritime industry and pioneering development of ballast water treatment technologies. Since its initial launch in 1998, more than 240 Hyde GUARDIAN units were sold to date for installation in various ship types and sizes around the world.
The Hyde GUARDIAN BWTS was tested and validated at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), one of the most challenging ballast water test facilities in the world, and proved to meet IMO G8 Guidelines and demonstrated reliable performance in difficult operating conditions.