Vessels with Ballast Water Treatment Systems installed and planned to sail to US waters, need to comply with both regulations.

• US EPA VGP 2013
• IMO BWM.2/Circ.70

Vessels sailing in US waters must comply with the US maritime regulations (EPA VGP 2013), just for the simple reason that the US is not a signatory of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention.

In order to comply with the regulations, the discharge water from BWTS need to be tested in order to confirm Biological Efficacy, and that the system is operated in accordance with the standards and requirements.

By performing the discharge water testing the specialist (24marine.com) can check the mechanical, physical, chemical and biological process of the BWTS, and compliance with regulations, It is recommended that the Sampling and Testing is performed by a independent test facility, accredited and certified to perform the tests required. See 24marine.com for more info.

24Marine will verify that your BWMS is operated in accordance with performance and standards at discharge as per USCG  and IMO.

Different type of systems (Chlorine, Ozone, Electrolytic, Ultraviolet, Pasteurization, etc) require different type of tests, sampling and check procedures.

When the test are performed by land based facility (Accredited Laboratory) it is really important to hire a specialist (trained) water sampling specialist, in order to collect, filed test, preserve, transport, document and deliver the samples to the lab following the standards. If the Sampling procedures are not followed by standards the sample can be declared as not valid.