The 81st session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) will be asked to consider type-approval documentation for an Iranian ballast water management system (BWMS)
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) has announced its approval of the RADClean BWMS, manufactured by Rahavaran Ayandeh Darya Co.
The system utilises filtration and injection of an active substance (sodium hypochlorite) generated by electrochlorination for ballast water treatment and to ensure operational safety, measures are in place to manage hydrogen produced during the electrochemical reaction in the system. Additionally, a neutralisation agent (sodium thiosulphate pentahydrate) is used to maintain safe levels of residual oxidants during discharge.
This decision follows a review process conducted by the Iranian Classification Society (ICS), acting on behalf of PMO, which evaluated technical documentation, test plans, and reports throughout the type-approval process.
PMO’s evaluation concluded the RADClean BWMS and its associated tests meet the requirements outlined in the BWMS Code for the approval of BWMS that make use of active substances (G9).
The RADClean BWMS was tested from 2021 to 2023 by the Research Institute of the Petroleum Industry (RIPI). Both land-based and shipboard testing phases were conducted to assess the system’s performance comprehensively.
The land-based testing, conducted at RIPI’s facilities in Iran, demonstrated the RADClean BWMS met the ballast water performance standard (D-2) across various salinity ranges and the system design limitations of the RADClean BWMS were validated through these tests.
Shipboard testing, conducted on board the crude oil tanker Dune, further confirmed the effectiveness of the RADClean BWMS in treating ballast water.
The type-approval of the RADClean BWMS covers a range of treatment capacities, with models capable of treating up to 4,000 m3 per hour of ballast water.
The PMO has invited MEPC 81 to note the information contained in the submission.
