By
Rebecca Gibson |
Ballast water treatment equipment manufacturers and stakeholders have created the Ballast Water Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (BEMA) to provide coordinated technical and non-commercial guidance to both the maritime industry and regulatory agencies.
Now a registered trade association based in the US, BEMA held its first meeting on 9 March 2018 and elected its board of directors during its first annual meeting on 19 April.
Newly elected executives include president Mark Riggio, also senior market manager at Hyde Marine; vice president Efi Tsolaki, also chief scientific officer at ERMA FIRST; secretary general Marcie Merksamer, also a biologist and vice president at EnviroManagement; treasurer Birgir Nilsen, also vice president of business development at Optimarin; and secretary Andrew Marshall, also CEO of Coldharbour Marine. Meanwhile, the board of directors comprises representatives from ballast water treatment equipment manufacturing companies, component suppliers and other industry stakeholders that are based in various regions around the world. They include Cathelco, Coldharbour, DESMI Ocean Guard, ERMA FIRST, Evoqua, Optimarin, Panasia and Wӓrtsilӓ.
“Representing the entire market is critical if we want to be a truly impartial, technical resource for the shipping and regulatory community,” said Riggio.
BEMA intends to serve as a key resource for shipowners, designers, testing equipment suppliers, environmental organisations and regulators to discuss how ballast water treatment systems work and expectations about how the various technologies can be operated across the global fleet. To do this, BEMA will schedule meetings with numerous shipowner associations and industry trade groups to provide unbiased advice and technical support to all stakeholders regarding the design, manufacture, installation, maintenance and long-term functionality of ballast water treatment systems.
The association will also facilitate organised research and information exchange, and liaise with governmental agencies and allied trade and professional associations across the world.
“It has been encouraging to see how enthusiastically the equipment manufacturers have embraced the organisation,” said Merksamer. “We have had a quick and energetic response from suppliers representing all of the major technology types in the industry and from every region of the world. BEMA is truly a global enterprise.”
BEMA also intends to apply for non-governmental organization (NGO) observer status from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
“There is a lot of value that [BEMA] can provide even before we achieve NGO status at the IMO,” said Steve Candito, Ecochlor CEO, member of the formation committee, and newly elected member of BEMA’s Board of Directors. “We have already been approached by ICS, BIMCO, and other ship owner associations to discuss the important implementation challenges. The industry wants to discuss solutions and we are ready to talk.”
BEMA is actively seeking out new members and recruiting members for soon-to-be-formed committees.