Marine ballast water

As, every day more ships are needed to transport commodities and commercial goods safely and efficiently, due to the growing needs of the world economy, shipbuilders and owners must keep ships and cargo safe, but also meet new regulations against pollution, particularly in ballast water.

Water has been used as ballast to stabilize vessels at sea since the introduction of steel hulled vessels around 120 years ago. Ballast water is pumped-in to maintain safe operating conditions throughout a voyage, like reducing stress on the hull, providing transverse stability, improving propulsion and manoeuvrability, and compensating for weight lost due to fuel and water consumption. While ballast water is essential in modern shipping operations, it may pose serious ecological, economic and health problems due to the multitude of marine species carried in ships’ ballast water. In fact, species like bacteria and parasites may survive and establish a reproductive population in the host environment, becoming invasive and multiplying into pest proportions.