October 2013

AMS Acceptance from the US Coast Guard

As the first in the world DESMI Ocean Guard’s ballast water treatment system OxyCleanTM receives AMS acceptance from the US Coast Guard, which is valid in all salinities; marine-, brackish- and freshwater. All previously released AMS acceptances are valid in only marine and brackish water.

On October 11’th 2013 DESMI Ocean Guard’s ballast water treatment system OxyCleanTM was granted US Coast Guard AMS acceptance. The AMS acceptance covers all salinities ranging from freshwater to marine water. This is the first time the USCG has released an AMS acceptance that covers all salinities, as all previously released acceptances are valid in only marine and brackish water, and hence not valid in freshwater.

 

We are extremely pleased to be the first in the world to receive the USCG AMS acceptance in all salinities. This proves that all the hard work and challenges associated with having our OxyCleanTM system specifically designed and approved for use also in fresh water was worthwhile.

 

Since the very beginning of the development of the OxyCleanTM system, we have been focused on developing a system that will work in all salinities. The reason for this is that freshwater conditions are much more commonly encountered than people tend to think. Many of the world’s largest ports are located in river estuaries and often the water here is freshwater. Examples are Shanghai, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Hamburg just to mention a few. If a vessel takes on ballast water in such a freshwater harbour it will not be allowed to discharge the ballast water to the sea in US territory, unless it has a Ballast Water Treatment System on board which is approved by the USCG for use in fresh water. Today our OxyCleanTM system is the only system in the world that meets this requirement.

 

The USCG AMS acceptance is an interim acceptance that is valid 5 years after the date where a given vessel must be equipped with a USCG approved ballast water treatment system. These dates are defined in the USCG Final Rule regarding discharge of ballast water, which entered into force in June 2012.

 

DESMI Ocean Guard is already working on obtaining a full USCG type approval for the OxyCleanTM system. In addition, our new RayCleanTM system has been tested in all three salinity ranges and all testing has been done according to both IMO guidelines and USCG requirements, and under the supervision of DNV, which is a USCG recognized Independent Lab. This means we expect USCG type approval for the RayCleanTM system once the USCG starts issuing type approvals for ballast water treatment systems.

 

Download the acceptance here.