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foreign flag ships fitted with this system to operate in US territorial waters and to discharge treated ballast water for an interim period of up to five years from the ship specific implementation date. AMS acceptance is the first stage towards obtaining full USCG type approval. Wärtsilä anticipates having all activities necessary to gain full US type approval completed within the five year interim period.
When ratified, the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Ballast Water Management Convention will require the owners of up to 40,000 vessels worldwide to install a BWMS. However, the USCG has already implemented legislation requiring compliance with the regulations covering discharges from ships when sailing in US coastal waters.
The intention of the legislation is to address the issue of invasive aquatic species being carried in the ballast water of ships and then discharged to the sea where they could possibly harm local species.
The IMO ratification requires support from 35% of the world’s merchant shipping tonnage. Japan and Turkey recently ratified the ballast water convention, meaning that contracting countries now represent 32.54%, just 2.5% short of the necessary tonnage. Ratification is, therefore, expected within the near future.
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