DANISH company BAWAT says it has created 'revolutionary' technology to help shipowners treat ballast water to fight the spread of invasive species 'simply, cost effectively and reliably' and protect the biodiversity of the world's oceans.
'The discharge of untreated ballast water causes enormous damage to our marine ecosystems,' said BAWAT chief executive Kim Diederichsen.
'Every year about 10 billion tons of ballast water are transported around the world. This is fundamentally important in stabilising ships and compensating for different cargo loads. But it's not just water that is transported. Each day around 7,000 marine species hide away in ballast water tanks - picked up in one place, eg. Singapore, and deposited in another, such as Rotterdam.
'When released from captivity they find themselves in new environments with new ecosystems where, as is often the case, they can out muscle native flora and fauna. The harm this causes, both environmentally and financially with impacts upon industry and livelihoods, is staggering.'
The ratification of the International Maritime Organisation's Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, in conjunction with strict regulations from the United States Coast Guard (USCG), means that 60,000 vessels in the world fleet are now required to install BWM solutions. Such technology exterminates life forms in ballast water.
According to Mr Diederichsen, the ballast water treatment system offered by BAWAT is 'effective, easy to operate, cheap to run and straightforward to maintain. Essentially it works by heating the ballast water to eliminate any potentially harmful organisms. The process is effective at temperatures as low as 64 degrees centigrade.
'No need for any chemicals, UV, filtering or post treatment holding time and effective with just a one-pass solution,' he said.
In a further development, the company has also developed a contingency, or portside, solution whereby vessels can plug in and pass untreated ballast water through a containerized version of the BAWAT system. This can be used if operators have issues with their existing systems from different manufacturers or, in a bold step, if they choose not to install systems at all.
'The discharge of untreated ballast water causes enormous damage to our marine ecosystems,' said BAWAT chief executive Kim Diederichsen.
'Every year about 10 billion tons of ballast water are transported around the world. This is fundamentally important in stabilising ships and compensating for different cargo loads. But it's not just water that is transported. Each day around 7,000 marine species hide away in ballast water tanks - picked up in one place, eg. Singapore, and deposited in another, such as Rotterdam.
'When released from captivity they find themselves in new environments with new ecosystems where, as is often the case, they can out muscle native flora and fauna. The harm this causes, both environmentally and financially with impacts upon industry and livelihoods, is staggering.'
The ratification of the International Maritime Organisation's Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, in conjunction with strict regulations from the United States Coast Guard (USCG), means that 60,000 vessels in the world fleet are now required to install BWM solutions. Such technology exterminates life forms in ballast water.
According to Mr Diederichsen, the ballast water treatment system offered by BAWAT is 'effective, easy to operate, cheap to run and straightforward to maintain. Essentially it works by heating the ballast water to eliminate any potentially harmful organisms. The process is effective at temperatures as low as 64 degrees centigrade.
'No need for any chemicals, UV, filtering or post treatment holding time and effective with just a one-pass solution,' he said.
In a further development, the company has also developed a contingency, or portside, solution whereby vessels can plug in and pass untreated ballast water through a containerized version of the BAWAT system. This can be used if operators have issues with their existing systems from different manufacturers or, in a bold step, if they choose not to install systems at all.