Page 6: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2015)

EDITORIAL

BWTS. Like it or

Not, Here it Comes

GREG TRAUTHWEIN, EDITOR & ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ith age comes perspective, and in install that may cost millions, that ultimately might Another recurring topic in our pages has been my 20 plus years reporting on this not be approved by the U.S. Coast Guard; and the the migration of shipbuilding and ship equipment industry I have seen my fair share shipyard backlog to get a system installed and op- technology production from the U.S. & Europe to of regulation that has served to erational in a timely manner. the Far East, speci? cally China, Korea and Japan.

W ‘raise the hackles’ of ship owners. It is quite simple Digging into the topic this month is Patricia This month reporting from Germany is Peter Pos- really; new regulation often means new procedure, Keefe who spoke with a long list of representatives piech who delivers an insightful piece on MMG, a new design, new equipment and new costs. With of nearly every side of the topic, including ves- German manufacturer of some of the world’s larg- the possible exception of the new rules in the wake sel owners, ship yards and the U.S. Coast Guard. est ship propellers. Propeller technology is one of of the Exxon Valdez which mandated double hulls Disdain of the BWT issue among ship owners is this industry’s great ‘secret sauces,’ and depending on tankers, the Ballast Water Management System no state’s secret, but perhaps the most telling quote on the vessel type, area of operation and mission, issue is the most acrimonious debate I have wit- comes from Graham Westgarth, COO of GasLog propellers vary wildly. Pospiech recently visited nessed. Logistics and a former Intertanko Chairman when with MMG CEO Manfred Urban, who shares with

While ship owners understand the environmental he said: Maritime Reporter the art and science behind his need for a solution to the invasive species problem, company’s ongoing success in building and ship- the acrimony centers on uncertainty; uncertainty “This legislation was pushed before the tech- ping from Germany to the Far East some of the that comes when melding political agenda, tech- nology was ready, and it has led to a massive world’s largest propellers.

nological development and market reality. While amount of uncertainty and a massive ? nancial equipment manufacturers have been working furi- burden on the industry. When you look at the ously to develop, test and gain approval for their amount of money that must be spent on this, it’s systems, deadlines for compliance and the threat of really something of a tragedy.” ? nes for ship owners are approaching rapidly. The overriding concern among ship owners is two-fold: Patrica’s story is the centerpiece of our Ship Re- ? tting a system onto a ship, a system to procure and pair coverage and starts on page 34.

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No. 1 Vol. 77

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