St. Lawrence Seaway officials meet with IMO on ballast management

St. Lawrence Seaway officials meet with IMO on ballast management    A group of U.S. and Canadian representatives from the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System met earlier this week with Jean-Claude Sainlos, director of the International Maritime Organization’s director of marine environment, to discuss efforts to better management ship’s ballast.
   According to a statement Monday from the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System, Sainlos supported the seaway’s environmental efforts and pledged to work closely with the delegation to promote and advance new treatment technologies under development. The IMO is required to make a determination of whether appropriate technologies are available to achieve the standard by 2006.
   “The seaway system is working with the marine industry to support and promote new R&D technologies that are designed to effectively manage ballast water safety efficiently and affordably,” said Albert Jacquez, administrator of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.
   Richard Corfe, president and chief executive officer for the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., told the IMO about the latest efforts of Fednav, the largest international carrier operating on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Fednav's vessel, the “Federal Welland,” has been retrofitted with new technology using filtration and nitrogen supersaturation to kill aquatic pests, and is scheduled to test the technology in November. The technology is Norwegian-developed and patented as the OceanSaver System.