Page 11: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2004)

Government Update anticipated shortly - possibly before this article you are reading is published.

The IMO has been engaged in a simi- lar effort to improve ballast water man- agement programs worldwide. An

International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments was adopted in February 2004. Wide acceptance of the

ABS Guidance for Ballast

Tank Inert Gas Systems

A major step forward in tanker oper- ation safety was taken as ABS announced technical guidance for inert gas systems for ballast tanks.

Compliance to the guidelines leads to the class notation IGS-Ballast. ABS is the first society to set standards and offer a notation for complying with design criteria and procedures for inerting ballast tanks on double hull tankers. The timely introduction of the

ABS Guide For Inert Gas System For

Ballast Tanks addresses industry con- cerns regarding the potential leakage of volatile gases from oil laden cargo tanks into the ballast or void spaces.

This concern has been further height- ened as double hull tanker configura- tions become the standard with man- dated phase in by 2010. "Leakage of oil into the double hull ballast space for tankers, even from minor cracking or corrosion pitting, can lead to volatile gas build up in these spaces. Installation of an appro- priate inert gas system reduces oxygen levels, thus reducing the atmospheric conditions that could lead to risk of explosion in the ballast tanks," explains Yoshi Ozaki, Manager,

Marine Engineering Systems, ABS.

Along with design criteria for the systems and guidance procedures on properly inerting (reducing the oxygen content of the atmosphere) and gas- freeing (introducing fresh air into the tank's atmosphere) the ballast tanks, another important secondary benefit gained from the ABS guide is the con- trol of corrosion in the ballast tanks. "By reducing the oxygen content in the space you can control or reduce corro- sion," adds Ozaki. "An inert condition exists when the oxygen content throughout the ballast tank's atmos- phere has been reduced to 5 percent or less by volume. By introducing inert gas such as nitrogen or a mixture of gases containing a reduced level of oxygen this decreases the corrosion rate."

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Convention is expected to follow rapid- iy-

The newly developed international standards and the proposed U.S. stan- dards have minimal inconsistencies, which will hopefully remove any objec- tions to U.S. ratification of the new

Convention.

Ballast water management has moved from a vague concept to specific guide- lines and soon to universally mandatory requirements in rapid succession.

Unfortunately, the technology is still in its infancy.

Ships are still relying largely on the antiquated method of ballast water exchange, with all its shortcomings and hazards. Both the new Convention and

U.S. Coast Guard policy address proto- type ballast water treatment technolo- gies. It is premature to predict when viable treatment equipment will be com- mercially available for use on ships. It is hoped that government regulation at the international, national, and local level will enhance, rather than impede, such development.

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Driveline and Chassis Technology

Circle 256 on Reader Service Card

July 2004 11