ICS: BWM Convention Compliance Comes with USD 100 Bn Price Tag

SHARJAH, UAE - Sept. 27, 2017 - PRLog -- The shipping industry may collectively need to spend around USD 100 billion in order to install the new ballast water treatment systems that will be required by law in order to become compliant with the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention that will enter into force on September 8, 2017.

Esben Poulsson, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) warned of the cost just two days before the convention's entrance into effect, adding that "we, therefore, have to get this right."

In July, the IMO decided to adjust the implementation dates of the Convention, so that existing ships (i.e. ships constructed before 8 September) will not be required to install treatment systems until the date of their first International Oil Pollution Prevention (IOPP) renewal survey after 8 September 2019.

"We acknowledge the pragmatic approach to implementation taken by IMO Member States who accepted the arguments made by ICS and other industry associations that there is little logic, from an environmental protection standpoint, in requiring thousands of ships to comply until they can be fitted with systems that have been approved under the more stringent standards," Poulsson explained.

"Shipowners must make full use of this additional time to identify and invest in far more robust technology to the benefit of the environment," he added.

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