By
Rebecca Gibson |
Naval architecture and engineering consultancy firm Foreship has created an infographic to help shipowners and operators understand what factors they need to consider when implementing ballast water management systems (BMWS) onboard their vessels.
Foreship, which offers feasibility studies and design for technical solutions for BWMS, has developed the infographic to help shipowners meet the International Maritime Organization’s 2004 BWM convention, which was officially adopted in 2017. The convention requires all ships to be fitted with approved BWMS by 8 September 2024, so the shipping industry can reduce the number of viable organisms left in seawater.
According to Foreship, shipowners must consider the performance and costs of different BWMS options, as well as the available space onboard their vessels and how the solution will be integrated with their piping, electrical cables and other systems.
The infographic outlines the six key stages of BWMS implementation, as well as the expected timeframes for completing each phase of the work. First, shipowners must carry out feasibility studies and concept engineering, before producing the basic engineering and classification designs and seeking class approval. Once these designs are finalised, shipowners must seek class approval before they can move on to the detailed engineering, installation and final approval and commissioning stages. Foreship estimates that the whole process could take up to 35 weeks to complete.