Page 56: of Marine News Magazine (May 2016)

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ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE

Discharges Have Consequences

Whether intentional, unintentional or even incidental, discharges from a vessel can have a huge impact on the marine environment. In addition to deck washdowns, vessel operators are responsible for controlling how other hazardous materials ? nd their way into the waters below. These everyday leaks, spills and runoff, no matter how obvious or obscure, can damage the marine ecosystem. And if your livelihood is tied to marine life, it is in your best interest to use VGP compliant cleaners.

the cleaning supplies. Proper training now will save of their business and the frequency of hauling different costly ? nes and retraining in the future. materials, Soloi cleans these cargo holds with more than • Material Storage: The easiest way to minimize 200 gallons of cleaning product at a time. runoff is to take necessary precautions. Remove Working with Soloi, a solution to the challenge was clutter and store items you don’t use regularly to achieved. Each cargo hold is initially washed down with prevent them from blowing overboard, getting seawater cannon to remove residues. Then SAFECARE® sprayed or dissolving in the elements. Store SC-1000 Aqueous Cleaner Concentrate is sprayed from materials in suitable and secure containers. bottom to top with a 10 percent dilution, allowed to dwell • Absorbent Usage: If deck water comes in contact with for 10 to 20 minutes, and then rinsed with a high-pressure oily materials, use absorbents or dry cleanup methods. cannon sprayer from bottom to top.

Opportunities for Improvement in the Cargo Hold Clean Sailing

Cleaning bulk cargo holds between shipments is often a VGP regulations were not designed to interfere with dirty job. If the water and dirt mix is disposed of overboard your operations. If you follow expert advice and equip this becomes a key component of VGP compliance. Make your crew with VGP compliant cleaners and instructions sure your strategy doesn’t overlook this activity. RSC Bio on how to use them, you can focus on what’s most impor-

Solutions, for example, works with customers to develop tant: running a pro? table business with compliant vessels. solutions that achieve VGP compliance without harming

George Cook is senior applications project cargo hold surfaces, people or the marine environment. manager for RSC Bio Solutions. He has

One ? rm, Soloi, Inc., ships a variety of materials – such over 30 years of experience in chemicals, as petroleum coke and coal – that leave the vessel’s cargo serving in various roles in R&D, sales and holds extremely dirty. These cargo holds are large, with marketing across multiple industries. more than 5,300 square feet of bulkhead surface, and are

Contact him directly at [email protected].

painted with modi? ed epoxy-type paint. Due to the nature

May 2016 56 MN

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