IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) is now just 0.21 per cent short of its 35 per cent trigger that will fire the gun for its entry into force a year later. Shipowners now appear to believe that it is inevitable that it will reach that target, and suppliers have seen a boost in enquiries. Orders, however, have not yet caught up.
John Dooley, president of Choice Ballast Solutions, reported a common experience: “We saw an increase in proposal activity in the fourth quarter of 2015 but, then, with the USCG rejection of the ‘most probable number’ (MPN) method and insufficient tonnage for ratification, many proposals were put on hold.”
That activity, in the latter part of the year, was related to the expectation that Indonesia’s ratification would bring the BWMC over its threshold, some suppliers believe. “Shipping companies were alerted and interested in the final decision of ratification. News spread quickly,” said a spokeswoman for Erma First.
But the impact was short-lived, said Rasmus Folsø, chief executive of Desmi Ocean Guard. “We saw increased interest and activity. The news that the BWMC is in fact still not ratified has, however, returned interest and activity to the same level as before November 2015.”
One company, however, has seen a number of definite orders. Tore Andersen, chief executive of Optimarin, said: “Towards the end of 2015 and into 2016, business has really taken off.” Fleet agreements, in particular, “have been a real area of success for us,” he said. But at least one of those orders – from Carisbrooke Shipping – was backed by a guarantee that Optimarin’s UV-based system would achieve USCG type-approval by the end of 2017.
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