Which Ballast Water Management System Will You Put Aboard? Remnant Anxieties: A Mini-Review

William Batista,Flavio Fernandes,Gregory Ruiz,Rosangela Lopes,Claudio Lopes,Whitman Miller

doi:10.3390/environments4030054

Abstract

An accepted solution to the environmental problems related to a ship’s ballast water has been the adoption and proper utilization of approved onboard ballast water plans and management systems (BWMS). On 8 September 2017, the International Maritime Organization Ballast Water Management Convention comes into force, and under this Convention, ships engaged in international trade must have an approved BWMS aboard to discharge ballast water, reducing species transfer. In response to enormous global concern about this problem, the overwhelming majority of the BWMS, approved currently for use by International Maritime Organization (IMO) and United States Coast Guard, utilize two main technologies (electro-chlorination or ultraviolet irradiation) as their principle mode of disinfection, often used in combination with filtration. However, both technologies have been questioned regarding their practically, efficiency, and possible environmental impacts upon discharge. This review article aims to explore some questions about these two technologies, drawing attention to some current uncertainties associated with their use. Also, it draws attention to some technical obstacles and regulatory impediments related to the new development of green biocide technology, which largely has been ignored, despite its potential as a simpler, cleaner and effective technology.

Highlights

The unintended relocation of potentially invasive organisms via untreated ballast water, a large volume of coastal and ocean water used to maintain the ships’ stability and integrity under different operational situations, is a global concern.Such transfers and introductions are a leading cause of biological invasions in coastal environments around the world
International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced that the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM Convention), drafted in 2004 and accepted by 52 of 172 IMO member States, will come into force on 8 September 2017, compelling ships engaged in international trade to have an Environments 2017, 4, 54; doi:10.3390/environments4030054
An absolute environmentally friendly ballast water management systems (BWMS) does not yet exist, this review aims to explore several questions about the two most commonly used ballast water treatment technology types, electrolytic disinfection and ultraviolet irradiation, drawing attention to some remnant anxieties associated with their use

Summary

Introduction

The unintended relocation of potentially invasive organisms via untreated ballast water, a large volume (sometimes exceeding 50,000 metric tons/vessel) of coastal and ocean water used to maintain the ships’ stability and integrity under different operational situations, is a global concern. Such transfers and introductions are a leading cause of biological invasions in coastal environments around the world. The most widely accepted solution has been the adoption and proper utilization of approved onboard ballast water plan and management systems (BWMS). A significant advance toward mitigating this environmental problem, the majority of the approved BWMS typically rely on physical or chemical modes of action

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