Envirocleanse’s inTank given USCG type-approval

Envirocleanse became the 15th ballast water management system (BWMS) to be granted US Coast Guard type-approval, making its inTank the first system that treats ballast water during the voyage to be type-approved.

The news follows closely after the Victor Restis-controlled shipping company, Enterprises Shipping & Trading, placed an order with Envirocleanse to fit inTank BWMS across its entire fleet of tankers and bulkers.

The system uses a dispersion system that was developed by marine consultancy Glosten and patented by the US Geological Survey for mixing its active substance, sodium hypochlorite, in the ballast tanks. The chemical can either be produced by electrolysis or supplied as a bulk compound.

This choice allows vessels on voyages of 72 hours or more to use electrolysis while for ships on short voyages, the bulk doser delivers liquid disinfectant to the ballast tanks.

Envirocleanse, a division of Charter Brokerage, a Berkshire Hathaway company, differentiates its InTank BWMS as a second-generation system, claiming that it by-passes the operational and commercial risks associated with ballast treatment during cargo operations.

The inTank BWMS is said to treat and neutralise ballast water in the tank. This means technical compliance with the type-approval certificate is achieved before discharge, and inTank also allows the vessel to actively control any regrowth potential for as long as ballast remains in the tanks. 

Envirocleanse senior vice-president Matt Hughes comments to the recent approval "All applicants to the USCG for type-approval are conventional in-line systems. All but one applicant uses a filter. Considering port operations are the most sensitive time for vessel activities with cargo and ballast operations often being interdependent, inTank offers a more developed, elegant solution to ballast water compliance. Moving ballast treatment activities from the port to the voyage removes risk from port activities. The critical benefits of inTank include no filters, no power consumption in port, normal ballasting operations, and no restriction due to ballast water quality such as salinity, UVT, turbidity or temperature.”

"Adding the US Coast Guard type-approval to the IMO final approval, with no temperature or salinity restrictions, meets the needs of ships traveling in worldwide trade," adds Glosten principal Kevin Reynolds. 

With 15 BWMS now approved by the USCG and many more on the IMO list, how do you choose which system to fit to your tanker? This is one of the topics discussed at the  Asian Tanker Conference in Singapore on 26 and 27 February.