the environmental impact of the process and coating damage as well as promoting a safe and effective cleaning processes.
Aron Sørensen, BIMCO’s Head of Marine Environment says: “The new in-water cleaning standard puts great emphasis on capturing what is removed from the ship, thereby ensuring that the marine environment is not negatively affected. We believe that a global standard will create much needed transparency along with economic and environmental benefits for shipowners, ports, port authorities and in-water cleaning companies,”
There are additional benefits to a global standard:
• Collecting materials removed from the ship and thus reduce the pollution from heavy metals and paint flakes released into the ocean during underwater cleaning.
• Reducing the risk to divers cleaning the hulls.
• Maintaining the performance of the anti-fouling systems (i.e. hull paint).
The standard is currently being trialled by a number of specialist hull cleaning companies to confirm the practicalities of global implementation. However, the approval standard is still under development and ultimately, BIMCO would need to ask the IMO for its adoption, which might take two to three years.
An approval standard will also address minimum requirements on approving and certifying in-water cleaners based on testing verified by accredited laboratories and certificates issued by internationally recognized classification societies. A certificate based on an approval standard will show that the equipment and the procedures used by in-water cleaning companies meets the highest industry standards.
ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTED AREAS?
Anti-fouling and in-water cleaning in the territorial waters of Australia and New Zealand is not permitted whilst in port. However, both administrations have issued detailed guidelines to assist ship owners and operations.
The guidelines provide best practice approaches to applying, maintaining, removing, and disposing of anti-fouling coatings and managing biofouling and invasive aquatic species on vessels and movable structures.
Additionally, one of the following measures must be applied before arriving in the territorial waters of New Zealand:
• Cleaning before visit to New Zealand or immediately upon arrival in a facility or by a system approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
• Biofouling must be removed from all parts of the hull and niche areas through cleaning that is carried out less than 30 days before arrival to New Zealand or within 24 hrs after arrival.
• Continual maintenance using best practices such as those within the IMO biofouling guidelines, including the application of appropriate coatings; operation of marine growth prevention systems on sea-chests; and in- water inspections with biofouling removal as required.
52 | The Report • December 2020 • Issue 94
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