Deltamarin supports ship owners in Ballast Water Management
An adequate number of member countries have now ratified the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention. For ship owners, the first deadline to observe is September 8, 2017 when all ships in international trade are required to carry on board an approved BWM plan and certificate of compliance. The first renewal survey conducted after this date marks the next milestone when a ballast water treatment system needs to be installed on most ships to eliminate carrying unwanted organisms.
With our 25-year experience in the marine and offshore industry, Deltamarin offers assistance for ship owners in solving the challenges of ballast water management.
Estimations say that at least 7,000 different species of unwanted stowaways are being carried in ships’ ballast tanks around the world. Studies from several countries indicate that many species of bacteria, plants and animals survive in the ballast water and sediment carried in ships, even after journeys of several months.
As a result of ballast water or sediment discharge into port state waters, harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens may be induced, which in turn may pose threats to local human, animal and plant life, as well as the marine environment. All factors being favourable, the introduced species may survive to establish a reproductive population in the new environment; it may even become invasive, out-competing native species and multiplying to pest proportions. Other media have also been identified as being responsible for transferring organisms between geographically separated water bodies, but ballast water discharge from ships appears to be among the most significant.
With about 90% of global trade carried by sea, shipping is statistically the least environmentally damaging transport mode when taking into account its productive value. Moreover, as the IMO states, shipping is, when set against land-based industry, a minor contributor to marine pollution from human activities.
As a result, IMO has developed guidelines for the development and implementation of ballast water management plans on board ships [IMO Resolution MEPC 127(53)]. The guidelines aim to assist all interested parties in preventing, minimising and ultimately eliminating the risk of introducing harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens from ship ballast water and associated sediments, while protecting the safety of ships.
Since the IMO Assembly Resolution was adopted in 2004, Deltamarin has been working closely with ship owners, suppliers and many shipyards to meet its recommendations. We can help ship owners prepare BWM plans for their fleets as a first step.
Deltamarin supports ship owners during the whole chain of a complex retrofit project, starting from a feasibility study and concluding with the commissioning of the BWTS equipment.