Innovative Ballast Water Management System Solution for container ships small tankers and passenger ships

Today more than 90% of all worldwide trade goods are transported on the ocean (IMO 2008).
The continued growth of this global shipping trade has had significant side effects. The ever
increasing movement of ships between different parts of the world at ever increasing speeds
has implications to the environment. This includes the spread of species beyond their native
range. When ships fill up their ballast tanks, the water taken onboard will contain a variety of
living organisms. Some of these organisms will survive the transit and may potentially thrive
in the new environment encountered when the ballast water is discharged. These invasive
marine species can often have detrimental consequences on the new environment,
outcompeting and even preying on the native species, threatening not only the natural habitat,
but the economy and livelihoods of communities dependent upon the invaded area’s
biodiversity. Ballast water therefore poses a serious threat to the ecological and economic
wellbeing of any new environment it is discharged into.
Quantifying the damage caused by Invasive Species (IS) to the EU in economic terms, the
cost in 2008, of controlling invasive species and repairing the damage they caused was
estimated at €9.6 - €12.7 billion (Nature and Biodiversity, Invasive Alien Species, May 2009,
EC Publication). As this is an international problem, the global cost is far higher, the US alone
estimated to spend at least €80 billion annually on the problem. Prevention is the cheapest and
best approach to tackling the problem of invasive species .
The ratification of the IMOs Ballast Water Management Convention means that ballast water
management (BMS)systems will become mandatory equipment on board ships. Current BMS
solutions are poor.
This project focuses on the development of an innovative system combining a set of
technological solutions to address the issue of ballast water treatment in ships (container
ships, small tankers, passenger vessels).