Submit USCG documents on land, shipboard and conformity tests.
Korea’s first and the 7th company in the world when final approval is made in March next year.
S&SYS, which spun off from Samsung Heavy Industries and established as an independent corporation, is expected to receive type approval for the BWMS "Purimar" from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) within March next year.
It is waiting for approval from USCG for the first time in Korea as it submitted verification documents in September after completing land, shipboard and conformity tests in Korea.
According to industries on the 22nd, S&SYS is about to receive type approval for BWMS (Ballast Water Management System) from USCG (United States Coast Guard) in 2018. This is the first time in Korean BWMS industries and the seventh in all global BWMS industries.
Earlier, in mid of September, S&SYS requested USCG for type approval for ship’s ballast water system "Purimar." The industry expects that S&SYS, which Samsung Heavy Industries has separated into an independent corporation as a major shareholder, will obtain type approval from “Purimar” within the first quarter of next year.
The ballast water is a seawater that is put in a ship’s tank to balance by lowering their center of gravity when they operate.
Ship’s ballast water, which is filled in tanks and dumped into the sea when cargo is loaded, creates problems that disrupt marine ecosystems such as various marine life and infectious diseases during the process. In order to prevent such problems, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has mandated to install a ballast water management system that acts as a sterilization of ballast water on ships to prevent ecosystem disturbances caused by microorganisms.
Earlier, IMO announced environmental regulations requiring ships operating from 2019 to have ballast water management system.
Separately, the U.S. has set up a regulation requiring ships operating on the U.S. coast to install ballast water management systems approved by the U.S. Cost Guard(USCG) although the U.S. has higher regulatory barriers than IMO and half of global ships are directed at the U.S., shipping companies cannot ignore the USCG's standards. BWMS industries are also developing technologies in order to meet USCG standards.
The global ballast water management system companies, currently USCG certified, are Norway's Optimarin, Ocean Saver, Sweden's Alfa Laval, China's Sunrui, the U.S. Ecochlor and Greece's Erma First. Only 6 companies are approved. USCG Approval is directly related to competitiveness.
"We are currently waiting for USCG type approval," an S&SYS official said. "In 2019, global shipping companies will have to install ballast water management systems in new ships, and after a certain period of time, the BWMS will have to be applied to ships operating around the world. Currently, ships are not allowed to dock in the U.S. or places with severe maritime environmental regulations, but we will have to install more ballast water management systems in the future” he said.