BALLAST WATER
Organisms carried in the ballast water in vessels that have ballasted in certain areas are believed to present a hazard to environmentally sensitive areas when ballast water is discharged.
Presently the main country which has enacted legislation relating to the discharge of ballast water is Australia. The following recommendations are made:
[A] Ballasting should be avoided in shallow or turbulent water.[B] Ballast water should be exchanged, preferably in open tropical within or adjacent to Australian Territorial Water.
water, but not
The Company is aware that item [A] above may be difficult to comply with and that item, not limited follow up ship electrician job.
[B] may impose unacceptable stresses on the vessel. Log book entries should be made whenever any operation regarding ballast is carried out to comply with ballast water legislation. The polluting organisms are mainly carried in the sediment in ballast water tanks and where stability requirements permit ballast tanks should not be stripped dry whilst the vessel is in Australian Territorial Waters.
Bilge Water
Bilge water can only be discharged in accordance with IMO’s Manual on Oil Pollution Sections 1 to 4.
EXHAUST EMISSIONS
Funnel emissions are strictly monitored in some countries most notably the U.S.A. and Japanese ports. The following general precautions should be taken:[A] Soot blowing in port should be avoided.[B] The Deck OOW emitting from the funnel.
should advise the Duty Engineer whenever smoke is seen
[C] When initially starting the main engine a watch should be kept and the engine room notified if smoke or sparks are evident.[D] If an occasion arises where an unavoidable emission of dark smoke is foreseen prior notice should be given to the Port Authorities whenever possible.
U.S.A “Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)”, “National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)” and “Vessel General Permit (VGP)” Requirements
From 19th December 2008, all commercial vessels, except commercial fishing vessels, of 24 meters
(79 feet ) in length or greater with discharges of pollutants incidental to their normal operation, including but not limited to ballast water discharges, into the US three mile territorial sea or inland waters will become subject to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) final Vessel General Permit (VGP) requirements and will need permit coverage.
The compliance date eventually was delayed until 19th Feb 2009, after which the vessels calling USA ports shall have “Compliance Document” which meets the requirements of finalized Vessel General Permit (VGP) regulations and incorporated in the Company’s Safety Management System.
The “Compliance Document” for VGP requirements is prepared (and amended as required) by the Company’s Qualified Individual (QI) “The O’Brien’s Response Management Inc.” in USA as a standalone Procedure Manual.