PART 1 – SPECIFICATIONS FOR PRE-TEST EVALUATION OF SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Resolutions - Marine Environment Protection Committee - Resolution MEPC.279(70) – 2016 Guidelines for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems (G8) – (Adopted on 28 October 2016) - ANNEX - PART 1 – SPECIFICATIONS FOR PRE-TEST EVALUATION OF SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION

PART 1 – SPECIFICATIONS FOR PRE-TEST EVALUATION OF SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION

1.1 Adequate documentation should be prepared and submitted to the Administration and be shared with the testing organization as part of the approval process well in advance of the intended approval testing of a BWMS. Approval of the submitted documentation should be a pre-requisite for carrying out independent approval tests.

1.2 Documentation should be provided by the manufacturer/developer for two primary purposes: evaluating the readiness of the BWMS for undergoing approval testing, and evaluating the manufacturer's proposed System Design Limitations and validation procedures.

Documentation

1.3 The documentation to be submitted as a part of the readiness evaluation should include at least the following:
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    1 a BWMS technica8 Installation Survey and Commissioning Procedures Following Type Approval l specification, including at least:

    • .1 a description of the BWMS and treatment processes it employs and details of any required permits;

    • .2 adequate information including descriptions and diagrammatic drawings of the pumping and piping arrangements, electrical/electronic wiring, monitoring system, waste streams and sampling points. Such information should enable fault finding;

    • .3 details of major components and materials used (including certificates where appropriate);

    • .4 an equipment list showing all components subject to testing including specifications, materials and serial numbers;

    • .5 an installation specification in accordance with manufacturers installation criteria requirements for the location and mounting of components, arrangements for maintaining the integrity of the boundary between safe and hazardous spaces and the arrangement of the sample piping;

    • .6 information regarding the characteristics and arrangements in which the system is to be installed, including scope of the ships (sizes, types and operation) for which the system is intended. This information may form the link between the system and the ship's ballast water management plan; and

    • .7 a description of BWMS side streams (e.g. filtered material, centrifugal concentrate, waste or residual chemicals) including a description of the actions planned to properly manage and dispose of such wastes;

  • .2 operation, maintenance and safety manuals – These should at least include:

    • .1 instructions for the correct operation of the BWMS, including procedures for the discharge of untreated water in the event of malfunction of the ballast water treatment equipment;

    • .2 instructions for the correct arrangement of the BWMS;

    • .3 maintenance and safety instructions and the need to keep records;

    • .4 trouble shooting procedures;

    • .5 emergency procedures necessary for securing the ship;

    • .6 any supplementary information considered necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the BWMS, e.g. documentation provided for approval under the Procedure (G9) for approval of ballast water management systems that make use of Active Substances; and

    • .7 calibration procedures;

  • .3 information on any hazard identification conducted to identify potential hazards and define appropriate control measures, if the BWMS or the storage tanks for processing chemicals could emit dangerous gases or liquids;
  • .4 information regarding environmental and public health impacts including:

    • .1 identification of potential hazards to the environment based on environmental studies performed to the extent necessary to assure that no harmful effects are to be expected;

    • .2 in the case of BWMS that make use of Active Substances or Preparations containing one or more Active Substances, the dosage of any Active Substances used and the maximum allowable discharge concentrations;

    • .3 in the case of BWMS that do not make use of Active Substances or Preparations, but which could reasonably be expected to result in changes to the chemical composition of the treated water such that adverse impacts to receiving waters might occur upon discharge, the documentation should include results of toxicity tests of treated water as described in paragraph 2.4.11 of these Guidelines; and

    • .4 sufficient information to enable the test organization to identify any potential health or environmental safety problems, unusual operating requirements (labour or materials), and any issues related to the disposal of treatment by products or waste streams;

  • .5 information regarding System Design Limitations including:

    • .1 the identification of all known parameters to which the design of the BWMS is sensitive;

    • .2 for each parameter the manufacturer should claim a low and/or a high value for which the BWMS is capable of achieving the performance standard of regulation D-2; and

    • .3 the proposed method for validating each claimed system design limitation should be set out, together with information on the source, suitability and reliability of the method;

  • .6 software change handling and revision control document including:

    • .1 all software changes introduced to the system after the pre-test evaluation shall be done according to a change handling procedure ensuring traceability. Therefore, the manufacturer shall present a procedure describing how changes are to be handled and how revision control is maintained. As a minimum for a modification request, the following types of information should be produced and logged:

      • .1 reason for modification;

      • .2 specification of the proposed change;

      • .3 authorization of modification; and

      • .4 test record;

  • .7 functional description including a textual description with necessary supporting drawings, diagrams and figures to cover:

    • .1 system configuration and arrangement;

    • .2 scope of supply;

    • .3 system functionality covering control, monitoring, alarm and safety functions;

    • .4 self-diagnostics and alarming functionalities; and

    • .5 safe states for each function implemented.

1.4 The documentation may include specific information relevant to the test set-up to be used for land-based testing according to these Guidelines. Such information should include the sampling needed to ensure proper functioning and any other relevant information needed to ensure proper evaluation of the efficacy and effects of the equipment. The information provided should also address general compliance with applicable environment, health and safety standards during the type approval procedure.

Readiness evaluation

1.5 During the readiness evaluation, the Administration should ensure that each technical specification set out in section 4 of the body of these Guidelines has been met, other than those that will be assessed during later testing.

1.6 The readiness evaluation should examine the design and construction of the BWMS to determine whether there are any fundamental problems that might constrain the ability of the BWMS to manage ballast water as proposed by the manufacturer, or to operate safely, on board ships.

1.7 Administrations should ensure adequate risk assessments including the implementation of preventative actions, have been undertaken relating to the safe operation of BWMS.

1.8 As a first step the manufacturer should provide information regarding the requirements and procedures for installing, calibrating, and operating (including maintenance requirements) the BWMS during a test. This evaluation should help the test organization to identify any potential health or environmental safety problems, unusual operating requirements (labour or materials), and any issues related to the disposal of treatment by-products or waste streams.

1.9 The test facility should have a procedure to deal with deviations that occur prior to testing and an evaluation process which includes an assessment and validation process to address any unforeseen deviations that may occur during testing. Deviations from the testing procedure should be fully reported.

1.10 During the readiness evaluation the major components of the BWMS should be identified. Major components are considered to be those components that directly affect the ability of the system to meet the performance standard described in regulation D-2. Upgrades or changes to major components should not take place during type approval testing. A change to a major component should require a new submission of the test proposal and should involve a new evaluation and repeating of the land-based and shipboard tests.

1.11 The Administration may allow replacements of non-major components of equivalent specification (independently approved to a recognized and equal operational standard) during type approval. Replacements of non-major components during testing should be reported.

1.12 Upgrades of the BWMS that relate to the safe operation of that system may be allowed during and after type approval and should be reported. If such safety upgrades directly affect the ability of the system to meet the standard described in regulation D-2, it should be treated as a change of a major component, as per paragraph 1.10 above.

1.13 The evaluation should identify consumable components in the BWMS. The Administration may allow replacement of like for like consumable components, during type approval testing and all replacements should be reported.

System Design Limitation evaluation

1.14 The System Design Limitation evaluation should be undertaken by the Administration. It should assess the basis for the manufacturer's claim that the System Design Limitations include all known water quality and operational parameters to which the design of the BWMS is sensitive that are important to its ability to achieve the performance standard described in regulation D-2.

1.15 The Administration should also evaluate the suitability and reliability of the methods proposed for validating the claimed low and/or high values for each System Design Limitation. These methods may include tests to be undertaken during land-based, shipboard or bench-scale testing and/or the use of appropriate existing data and/or models.

Parent topic: ANNEX
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