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30 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2014 culture. In the hydrocarbon industry, sampling and testing procedures used in Caspian production Þ elds are familiar to producers in Oklahoma. If standardization is achievable, then what?s the trouble in the ballast water camp? Why does the ICS write almost acidly in an April 8 press release that instead of searching for a ?road map? to address compliance issues, IMO governments opted instead to study and (implicitly) duck the problem? For many govern-ments, procrastination until the wolves are at the door is easier than grappling with hard issues. In the ballast water technology Þ eld, global shipping and its regulators already know how to deal with complex technology. What they lack is strong leadership to resolve issues like those which ICS put on the table.Enter Admiral Zukunft. What could he do about this situation?First, and perhaps most important, he could lead the U.S. Executive branch to internal consensus over U.S. ballast wa-ter control policy. Admiral Zukunft is a new Þ gure on the block, and can provide fresh perspective, energy, and strong in- teragency leadership where it is needed. To make a difference internationally, the Coast Guard and Environmental Protec-tion Agency must speak with one voice on standards and sampling. Second, I would encourage Admiral Zukunft to take on the global ballast wa-ter regulation problem aggressively. It is an important problem aggravated by IMO member state procrastination and no Þ rm hand on the rudder. Coast Guard and Navy personnel are trained to ex-ercise leadership when confronted with a shipboard Þ re, with ß ooding, or with other dangers at sea. This means that someone on the scene will step forward and forcefully state ? ?I am in charge.? The global ballast water ?Þ asco? needs this.Diplomacy is required, of course, in a Þ eld with major international implica- tions. But Admiral Zukunft is already a well-known quantity in nations which operate much of the world?s commer- cial shipping. My hunch is that most would welcome his leadership on the ballast water control issue, as all nations potentially are affected by a leadership void. Whether one stands before the town council or a multilateral special-ized technical organization like the IMO, leadership is no picnic. But it is vital in all settings, and no less so on the ballast water front. A distinguished of Þ cer like Admiral Zukunft could craft a consensus on how to proceed on ballast water tech-nology under the IMO convention when it comes into force, how to reconcile the convention?s technology provisions with member state regimes, and how to build a standard sampling methodology that will provide ship owners and states the certainty they require. I believe that this work could be accomplished without do-ing violence to the convention?s basic in- tegrity, and within the IMO framework. Global shipping needs the ballast wa-ter regulation ?road map? whose absence was forcefully noted by the ICS in April. In my judgment, Admiral Zukunft has the leadership skills required to chart that course. It is a worthy undertak-ing. There is a compelling need now for someone with his gravitas, professional knowledge, and credentials to step for- ward and announce: ?I am in charge.? CLEAN WATER TECH The AuthorOrganizer of Mexico?s Þ rst ballast water technology conference, Richard Douglas advises transport Þ rms about non-OECD markets. He is also a lawyer, a veteran of Iraq and the Bush Pentagon, and be- gan adult life in a Navy engine room. E: oceansafari@comcast.net MR #8 (26-33).indd 30MR #8 (26-33).indd 308/4/2014 9:52:50 AM8/4/2014 9:52:50 AM
