Ballast Tanks Of Ships Research Articles

Global range expansion of the Asian mussel Limnoperna fortunei (Mytilidae): Another fouling threat to freshwater systems

The Asian freshwater mussel Limnoperna fortunei was first documented as a major fouling pest when it colonized Hong Kong's water supply system in the late 1960s. It has since fouled municipal waterworks and power plant cooling systems in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and most recently, in South America. Dense accumulations of byssally‐attached mussels obstruct flow in water conduits, causing impacts similar to those of the Eurasian zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). Limnoperna has demonstrated potential for global range expansion through the oceanic transport of its planktonic larvae in ship ballast tanks. Therefore, unless effective controls are imposed upon ballast‐water transport, the mussel will continue to invade and impact aquatic systems on other continents. Given that shipping traffic from both Asia and South America has already resulted in recent introductions of exotic bivalves to the USA, a future North American invasion by L. fortunei is highly probable.

Ballast water as a vector for tintinnid transport

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 149:295-297 (1997) - doi:10.3354/meps149295 Ballast water as a vector for tintinnid transport Pierce RW, Carlton JT, Carlton DA, Geller JB Ballast tanks of cargo ships arriving in Coos Bay, Oregon, USA, from various Japanese ports were sampled from October 1987 to January 1991. A total of 33 tintinnid species from 15 genera were identified from ballast water samples. Live tintinnids were observed on occasion. Many of the species that were observed in these ballast water samples have also been found in the nearby Strait of Juan de Fuca, but others have never been reported in the eastern Pacific. The presence of tintinnids in ballast water obfuscates any conclusions about the natural distributions of these species. This study suggests that ballast water has been a vector for tintinnid transport for many years, and that it may no longer be possible to determine the native distributions for many tintinnid species. Tintinnid · Ciliate · Exotic organisms · Ballast water · Biogeography Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 149. Publication date: April 10, 1997 Print ISSN:0171-8630; Online ISSN:1616-1599 Copyright © 1997 Inter-Research.

Environmental fate of sacrificial zinc anodes and influence of a biofilm

Laboratory experiments were performed to determine the environmental fate of zinc compounds formed during sacrificial dissolution of zinc anodes in seawater and to further determine the role of biofilms in mobilizing/immobilizing zinc corrosion products. Experimental conditions simulated cathodic protection and overprotection (40x normal) of ship ballast tanks with an anode to cathode ratio of 0.091. Anodic dissolution and percentage of soluble zinc increased with the level of protection. For normal cathodic protection in abiotic seawater, approximately 3% of the sacrificed zinc was dissolved in solution. Additionally, weight loss and percent soluble products increased dramatically in the presence of an agar film, but were unchanged due to the presence of natural marine biofilms. Under overprotection conditions, weight loss did not vary in the presence of surface films. Solid zinc corrosion products were precipitated, suspended in solution, and attached to electrode surfaces. Experimental data were compared with zinc concentrations measured in ballast tanks for two United States Navy surface ships.

Toxin composition of resting cysts of Alexandrium tamarense (Dinophyceae)

Paralytic shellfish toxin composition in the resting cysts of the dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense was investigated by means of high performance liquid chromatography. A comparison was made between cysts collected from ship ballast tank sediments, natural population of motile vegetative cells collected from the area where ballast water was taken, as well as cultured vegetative cells established from the cysts and the natural plankton bloom. Total toxin concentration of the cysts (595 fmole/cell) was six-fold higher than that of the natural population of vegetative cells. They contained the same ten toxic components but in different relative abundances. The higher proportion of 11-α-hydroxysulfate epimers in the cysts suggests that the biosynthesis of toxins is halted at an early stage in cyst formation.

Cargo vessel ballast water as a vector for the transport of non-indigenous marine species

The fauna in ballast water tanks of bulk cargo vessels sailing between Japan and Australia was investigated over two years. Two fish species ( Therapon jarbua and Ptereleotris sp.) were found. Twenty-two zooplankton species and 45 other planktonic taxa were collected. Of these, six copepod species ( Calanus sinicus, Centropages abdominalis, C. yamadi, Labidocera bipinnata, Pontellopsis tenuicauda and Corycaeus affinis), and one mysid ( Neomysis japonica) are endemic to Japan. In sediments from ballast tanks, 16 species and at least 21 taxa were found. Species endemic to Japan included two amphipods ( Melita rylovae, Orchomene pacifica), one mysid ( Acanthomysis shrencki), two brachyuran crabs ( Pinnixa rathbuni and Pinnaxodes mutsuensis) and one caridian shrimp ( Alpheus hoplocheles). The number of planktonic species and taxa arriving in Australia in ballast water tanks tended to decrease with increased voyage time. Mid-ocean exchange of ballast water en route greatly reduced the number of planktonic species. We estimated that two-thirds of the taxa that could be expected to be found have so far been recorded. These results suggest that water and sediment carried in ballast tanks of bulk cargo ships can act as an important inter-continental vector for the spread of planktonic and benthic species.

Geographic Differences in Herbivore Impact: Do Pacific Herbivores Prevent Caribbean Seaweeds From Colonizing Via the Panama Canal?

Several dominant, shallow-water seaweeds from the Caribbean are physiologically capable of transiting the freshwater of the Panama Canal, surviving both the marked salinity changes and the required time spent in freshwater. Some of these species are known to settle and grow on boat bottoms, thus providing a direct method for transport through the canal. However, they are rare or absent on the Pacific coast. The primary barrier to the successful transport and establishment of these species appears to be herbivore activity and the lack of reef-generated refuge areas on the Pacific coast, not the salinity of the Panama Canal. IN THE 70 YEARS THAT THE PANAMA CANAL HAS LINKED THE WESTERN CARIBBEAN AND THE EASTERN PACIFIC, very few interoceanic colonizations have been documented. It is generally assumed that the major barrier to transfer of marine species between oceans has been the freshwater in the canal. Thus, the discussions of potential colonizations have focused primarily on transfers that might occur if a new, sea-level canal were constructed or on species that might be carried in the ballast tanks of ships (Briggs 1968, 1969; Rubinoff 1968; Topp 1969; Springer 1973; Glynn 1982; but see Menzies 1968). Here we focus on direct transfer of adult seaweeds, many of which are shown to be tolerant of long exposure to freshwater. Disjunctions in herbivore impact often determine the local distribution of plant populations or community types in marine environments (Kitching and Ebling 1961; Randall 1965; Jones and Kain 1967; Ogden et al. 1973; Lubchenco and Menge 1978; Lubchenco 1980; Hay 198 la, b, c; Underwood and Jernakoff 1981; Hay et al. 1983). Herbivory also appears to be a primary factor maintaining the between-habitat diversity of seaweeds on coral reefs (Hay 1981a, Hay et al. 1983) and has been hypothesized to be important in maintaining distributional boundaries on a geographic scale (Lubchenco 1980, Hay 1981a, Lubchenco and Gaines 1981, Gaines and

Performance of Aluminum Alloy Anode for Marine use

As aluminum alloy is the most promising anode among various kinds of galvanic anodes from economical point of view, we have tried to make performance test on many kinds of aluminum anodes. These results are reported in this paper. Al-In-Zn alloy anode is found to be for superior to other kinds of aluminum anode. The aluminum anode is effective in use of ship hull and ballast tank excluding oil tanker. To make use of the aluminum anode in ballast tank of oil tanker, We must pay attention to the shape of anode and anode current density etc.

A North American Xanthoid Crab New to Britain

INVESTIGATIONS of the fauna of artificially warmed docks in Swansea have revealed the presence of xanthoid crabs identified as Neopanope texana sayi (Smith). Specimens agree well with descriptions given by Rathbun1 and Ryan2, and they have been compared with material in the British Museum (Natural History). The previous known distribution of N. t. sayi was along the east coast of North America from Florida northwards to the Gulf of St. Lawrence1,2 and the present record appears to be the first for the British Isles. There are shipping lines which operate between the east coast of North America and Swansea, and it is no doubt by this means that the crab has been accidentally transported. Wolff3 has previously suggested that the crabs Callinectes sapidus Rathbun and Rhithropanopeus harrisi Gould may have reached the coasts of Europe from North America in the ballast tanks of ships, and Neopanope has probably been carried to Britain in, the same manner. In North America N. t. sayi is reported especially from muddy places and on piles among algae2. The habitat is similar in Swansea where specimens have been collected regularly among Ciona intestinalis (L.) and other fouling organisms4 on wooden piles, in a region where the floor of the dock is muddy. The occurrence of the crabs on dock piles and timbers would no doubt enable them or their larvae to find their way into ships' condenser tubes and ballast tanks, in which they could then be transported to a new locality.

The Permanent Anode in Impressed‐current Cathodic Protection Systems—Part 1

The radical mitigation of corrosion on external or internal surfaces of pipelines, tank farms, storage tanks, pylon footings and of gasholders, ship's ballast tanks, ship's hulls, condenser end‐boxes, heat exchangers and pasteurisers, has been successfully accomplished by the application of cathodic protection both by galvanic anodes and by the use of the impressed‐current method. The scope of cathodic protection is thus comprehensive. This paper describes in a general way the properties, uses and limitations of the principal materials used as anodes in impressed‐current cathodic protection systems, together with some indication of the effects of different environments upon the various materials. In this first part, graphite, silicone iron and scrap steel are discussed.