3.1 This section provides the detailed elements and documentation that should be included in a Programme and Programme Application as defined in section 1.7.1. The Programme Application should contain information on the following aspects:
- participants
- ballast water treatment technology description
- ship description
- installation and installation survey description
- performance test and evaluation description
- time schedule and reporting
3.2 All relevant and requested documentation describing the Programme for which the applicant is applying for approval should be submitted to the Administration. The application should only encompass one prototype ballast water treatment technology and should not normally result in installations in more than three ships. Prototype installations onboard more than one ship should be justified in the application and may rest upon technology development requirements related to, for example:
- capacity issues;
- geographical areas of operation;
- specific onboard conditions varying as a function of ship type; and
- refit to existing vessels versus installations onboard new vessels. MEPC 54/21
3.3 The Programme Application should also take into account safety and environmental regulations which have to be met by the ship so as to ensure that other international and/or national requirements are not compromised by the prototype ballast water treatment technology.
3.4 The Programme should implement appropriate quality control measures in accordance with recognized international standards to which all participants specified in Section 3.5 should be required to comply.
Participants
3.5 The Programme should provide an overview of the different participants included in the Programme Application including, as appropriate:
- the ship owner or operator;
- the manufacturer(s); and
- the testing institution or any laboratories, institution(s) or companies carrying out elements of or the entire programme or advising the manufacturer in carrying out the programme.
3.6 The roles and responsibilities of each of the identified participants should be clearly described within the Programme Application.
Ballast water treatment technology description
3.7 The Programme Application should include information regarding design, construction, operation and functioning of the proposed ballast water treatment technology. The information should also include any foreseen conditions limiting its application with respect to voyage duration, ship type, capacity (flow rate and/or volume) or any other such condition if relevant.
3.8 The Programme Application should contain documentation on the potential of the prototype technologies meeting or exceeding the performance standard in regulation D-2. Recognized scientific and statistical practices should have been utilized in the preparation of this documentation.
3.9 The construction, operation and maintenance of the technology should be adequately described to allow for consideration by the Administration and this should include:
- The prototype ballast water treatment technology should have a configuration and construction suitable for shipboard installation and normal onboard operation;
- Design, construction and material should be suitable for the purpose for which the equipment is intended, the working conditions to which it should be subjected and the environmental conditions onboard. This should include considerations of:
- vibration – to ensure that there are no potential resonance occurring;
- temperature – to assure safe and proper operations and performance of the technology over a range of temperatures applicable for shipboard installations;
- humidity – to ensure the suitability of equipment exposed to humidity/ water as applicable to shipboard installations;
- power fluctuation – to ensure proper functioning over a voltage/frequency variation; and
- inclination – to assure that the technology should operate during those scenarios it is intended for, taking into account the motion of the vessel and that it should remain safe and not represent any danger to crew or ship onboard during inclination.
- Routine maintenance of the prototype ballast water treatment technology and trouble-shooting procedures should be clearly described by the manufacturer in a operating and maintenance manual.
- The prototype ballast water treatment technology should be provided with simple and effective means for its operation and control.
- In case of a failure compromising the proper operation of the prototype ballast water treatment technology, audible and visual alarm signals are to be activated at all stations from where ballast water operations may be controlled.
- The prototype ballast water treatment technology programme should provide for record keeping of the entire ballast water operations including:
- record of operations and any malfunctioning during operations;
- record of all essential parameters necessary to ensure proper functioning;
- date and time of start and end of the ballast operation; and
- ballast operation mode (loading, discharge, transfer).
- The prototype ballast water treatment technology should allow for sampling such that representative samples of the ship’s ballast water can be collected as described in the experimental design as described in the Programme Application.
3.10 The Programme Application should include descriptions of the working principles, use if any Active Substances, operational conditions and application feasibility of the prototype ballast water treatment technology.
3.11 The Programme Application should include an assessment of the potential effects upon other personnel, shipboard systems and structure, highlighting any special safety provisions that maybe necessary due to the characteristics of the installation and/or operation of the prototype ballast water treatment technology.
Ship description
3.12 The Programme Application should include a full and complete description of the ship(s) in which the prototype ballast water treatment technology is to be installed. This description should include:
- ships’ name;
- date of construction;
- flag;
- port of registry;
- gross tonnage;
- dead weight;
- IMO number;
- length (bp);
- beam;
- international call sign;
- deepest ballast drafts (normal and heavy weather);
- total ballast capacity of the ship in cubic metres and other units if applicable to the ship.
3.13 The description should also include normal operational ballast flow rates and volumes, and, to the extent possible, typical voyage lengths and routes.
Installation and installation survey description
3.14 The Programme Application should fully describe the manner in which the equipment should be integrated into the ship and should provide the following for the onboard installation:
- process flow diagram of the prototype ballast water treatment technology;
- “equipment arrangement” drawings of the proposed prototype ballast water treatment installation. These should show scaled lay-outs of the spaces and important mechanical and structural features such as major propulsion and electrical components, bulkheads and pillars, and doors and other means of access/egress;
- “piping arrangement” drawing of the prototype ballast water treatment system installation, including ballast and cross-connected piping systems, sample piping, and the operational outlets for treated effluent and any waste streams;
- information relating to onboard safety matters;
- an assessment of the potential effects upon other shipboard systems and the ship’s structure, highlighting those aspects of the design and operation of the system, and its integration into the ship, to be put in place to prevent any compromises to crew and ship safety;
- assurance of adequate safety interlocks and failsafe measures to ensure subdivision boundaries, structural integrity, and vessel stability are not compromised;
- assurance that new piping and flows should not result in unsafe ballasting or deballasting situations, e.g., overpressure;
- assurance that escape arrangements in manned spaces are not compromised;
- arrangements for maintaining the integrity any boundary between safe and hazardous spaces;
- attention to restrictions related to the use of electrical equipment in hazardous areas; and
.11 a provision for safe storage and use of Active Substances.
3.15 The installation survey description should contain a listing of those items which should be validated at the survey and these include, as a minimum, the following:
- updated, as-installed diagrammatic drawings of any additional pumping and piping arrangements, identifying the operational outlets for treated effluent and any waste streams. Special consideration may have to be given to installations on ships that have unusual pumping and piping arrangements, as well as restrictions related to the use of electrical equipment in hazardous areas;
- equipment manuals, supplied by manufacturers, which should contain details of the major components of the treatment system;
- operations and technical manual for the complete installed prototype ballast water treatment. This manual should cover the arrangements and operation of the system as a whole and should specifically describe the parts of the system which may not be covered by the manufacturer’s equipment manuals. The operations section of the manual should include normal operational procedures and procedures for the discharge of untreated water in the event of malfunction of the equipment. The technical section of the manual should include adequate information (description and diagrammatic drawings of the pumping and piping arrangements, of the monitoring system and electrical/electronic wiring diagrams) to enable fault finding and should include instructions for keeping a maintenance record;
- the installation should comply with manufacturer’s specific installation criteria. A technical installation specification defining, inter alia, the location and mounting of components, arrangements for maintaining the integrity of any boundary between safe and hazardous spaces, and the arrangement of the sample piping;
- the Ballast Water Management Plan; and
- any other conditions required by the Administration.
3.16 The Programme Application should provide a recommended test and survey procedure. This procedure should specify all the checks to be carried out in a functional test and should provide guidance for the surveyor when carrying out the on-board survey of the treatment system. This procedure may be amended as necessary prior to the survey and with the concurrence of the Administration.
Performance test and evaluation description
3.17 A full description of the onboard tests and evaluations to be undertaken should be provided. When available standard methods for the collection, handling (including concentration), storage, and analysis of samples should be applied. These methods should be clearly referenced and described in test plans and in reports. This includes methods for detecting, concentrating, enumerating, and identifying organisms and for determining viability. When non-standard methods are used they should be validated, documented and reported. A description of the experimental design and sampling procedure should be provided.
3.18 The Programme should evaluate:
- the biological efficacy of the installed prototype ballast water treatment technology;
- the operational performance which should include, but not be limited to:
- unplanned maintenance and manning requirements
- operational data relative to manufacturer’s specification
- consideration of the environmental conditions identified in section 3.9.2;
- the effects upon the ship’s systems and structure; and
- any other characteristics identified by the participants or the Administration.
3.19 Experimental Design and Protocols should include:
- a general description of the experimental test including the experimental hypotheses being tested and methods for the determination of biological efficacy and operational performance. The Programme Application should identify the test locations, source waters, and relevant environmental water conditions, to the extent possible. The overall study plan should take full advantage of the range of locations provided by the vessel’s operations, to the extent practicable;
- a detailed description for each of the experiments including:
- ballast water sample collection for each treatment and control, identification and number of replicate tanks, ballast water samples and time points encompassed in the test;
- description of test runs: replicate tests (tests at same location and environmental conditions) and comparative tests (tests at different locations or environmental conditions). Description of how the efficacy of the treatment process should be evaluated; include a description of how the efficacy should be quantified, as well as a description of the comparison of biological efficacies;
- the plan should address statistical analysis (including power analysis) and data confidence issues. Fully describe the intended statistical tests, use of controls, and replicates for each experiment; and
- how the experiment accounts for the range of seasons, organic matter content, turbidity, pH, salinity, etc. likely to be encountered in operation and, to the extent possible, describe the range of these variables;
- the experimental design should address the operation of the ship’s systems whose arrangements (e.g., cross connections) have the potential to confound the resulting data.
Time schedule and reporting
3.20 The Programme Application should include procedures and schedules for reporting the progress and status of the Programme through all phases. Reporting to the Administration should occur on a regular basis throughout the Programme. In addition, reporting should include the results and evaluation of all conducted experiments.
3.21 The Programme Application should present an overall time schedule compliant with project management standards. This schedule should include an estimation of major task element time lines. Each of these should have an anticipated period of performance and execution and include events such as approval of the Programme by the Administration, the installation survey, experimental and progress reports. Major task elements should include the installation of the prototype ballast water treatment technology into the ship, initiation and execution of experiments and maintenance periods.