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MERC ER02-09
2
3. Summary of IMO Standards
This evaluation was designed to determine if the MSI system can meet IMO D2 standards
in accordance with both the IMO
Guidelines for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems
(G8).
The IMO Convention performance standard states that ships must discharge:
1) Less than 10 viable organisms per m
3
, greater than or equal to 50 µm in minimum
dimension;
2) Less than 10 viable organisms per ml, less than 50 µm in minimum dimension and greater
than or equal to 10 µm in minimum dimension and
3) Less than the following concentrations of indicator microbes, as a human health standard:
1. Toxigenic
Vibrio cholerae
(serogroups O1 and O139), less than 1 colony forming unit
(cfu) per 100 ml
2.
Escherichia coli,
less than 250 cfu per 100 ml;
3. Intestinal Enterococci, less than 100 cfu per 100 ml.
4. Summary of Test Protocols
The following is a brief summary of the testing approach and methods. For complete
details on protocols, data management, and quality control / quality assurance procedures for this
MERC evaluation, please refer to the
Test Plans for the Performance Evaluation of the Maritime
solutions, Inc. Ballast Water Treatment System
(April 2008 and March 2009), available for
download at www.maritime-enviro.org.
The protocols described below are based upon the IMO G8 guidelines and the U.S. Coast
Guard supported ETV protocols under development. Any deviation from IMO G8 or ETV were
explained and justified in the Test Plan. MERC evaluated the biological efficacy of the MSI
ballast water treatment system onboard the MARAD vessel
MV Cape Washington
while docked
in the Port of Baltimore. The ballast system on
MV Cape Washington
was modified to allow for
water at a flow rate of 400m
3
/hr to be split equally at flow rates of 200 m
3
/hr and delivered
simultaneously to either a “control” (untreated) ballast tank or a “treated” (passing first through
the MSI system) ballast tank. These two tanks were used for the required holding time of five
days and were essentially identical in size and structure. Each tank was filled to approximately
250 m
3
for each test trial.
Temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, turbidity and pH were
measured every 15 minutes during the test trials by two identical multi-parameter probes placed,
one each, into the control and test tanks. Initial inline samples of ballast water during the filling
of the control and test tanks were collected, filtered, and analyzed for the water quality
parameters of particulate organic carbon (POC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC – only in 2009),
and total suspended solids (TSS).
A total of 10 identical 1.1 m
3
conical bottom mesocosms were also used for controlled
sampling during each trial. Using the mesocosms, five sequential samples were taken during:
(A) initial filling of tanks, just prior to the split of control and treated water (T0 Control), (B)
initial filling of test tank, just downstream of the MSI system during filling of test tank (T0
Treated), (C) during discharge of control water after a five-day holding time (TF Control), and
(D) during discharge of treated water after a five-day holding time (TF Treated).
Immediately after filling, 1.0 m
3
of water in each mesocosm was filtered through a 35 µm
plankton net to concentrate the zooplankton for qualitative and quantitative analyses under a
dissecting microscope. The proportion and total concentration of live versus dead organisms was