Stemming the Tide
Stemming the Tide

Author: Committee on Ships'Ballast Operations

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1996-11-05

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 0309589320

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The European zebra mussel in the Great Lakes, a toxic Japanese dinoflagellate transferred to Australia--such biologically and economically harmful stowaways have made it imperative to achieve better management of ballast water in ocean-going vessels. Stemming the Tide examines the introduction of nonindigenous species through ballast water discharge. Ballast is any solid or liquid that is taken aboard ship to achieve more controlled and safer operation. This expert volume Assesses current national and international approaches to the problem and makes recommendations for U.S. government agencies, the U.S. maritime industry, and the member states of the International Maritime Organization. Appraises technologies for controlling the transfer of organisms--biocides, filtration, heat treatment, and others --with a view toward developing the most promising methods for shipboard demonstration. Evaluates methods for monitoring the effectiveness of ballast water management in removing unwanted organisms. The book addresses the constraints inherent in ballast water management, notably shipboard ballast treatment and monitoring. Also, the committee outlines efforts to set an acceptable level of risk for species introduction using the techniques of risk analysis. Stemming the Tide will be important to all stakeholders in the issue of unwanted species introduction through ballast discharge: policymakers, port authorities, shippers, ship operators, suppliers to the maritime industry, marine biologists, marine engineers, and environmentalists.

Stemming the Tide
Stemming the Tide

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1996-11-22

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 0309055377

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The European zebra mussel in the Great Lakes, a toxic Japanese dinoflagellate transferred to Australiaâ€"such biologically and economically harmful stowaways have made it imperative to achieve better management of ballast water in ocean-going vessels. Stemming the Tide examines the introduction of non-indigenous species through ballast water discharge. Ballast is any solid or liquid that is taken aboard ship to achieve more controlled and safer operation. This expert volume: Assesses current national and international approaches to the problem and makes recommendations for U.S. government agencies, the U.S. maritime industry, and the member states of the International Maritime Organization. Appraises technologies for controlling the transfer of organismsâ€"biocides, filtration, heat treatment, and othersâ€"with a view toward developing the most promising methods for shipboard demonstration. Evaluates methods for monitoring the effectiveness of ballast water management in removing unwanted organisms. The book addresses the constraints inherent in ballast water management, notably shipboard ballast treatment and monitoring. Also, the committee outlines efforts to set an acceptable level of risk for species introduction using the techniques of risk analysis. Stemming the Tide will be important to all stakeholders in the issue of unwanted species introduction through ballast discharge: policymakers, port authorities, shippers, ship operators, suppliers to the maritime industry, marine biologists, marine engineers, and environmentalists.

Summary Report: Audits of Ballast Water Treatment Systems
Summary Report: Audits of Ballast Water Treatment Systems

Author: G. E. Roderick

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13:

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The development of ballast water treatment (BWT) technologies is at a very early stage. Many of the proposed BWT technologies have had limited laboratory testing and only a few have been tested aboard ships. Many others are still in the conceptual stage. In order to gain a better understanding of BWT technology development the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center (USCG RDC) initiated an audit program designed to evaluate the efficacy of promising treatment systems. The program objective was to promote insight into the current status of the scientific and engineering technologies proposed to replace ballast water exchange in reducing introductions of aquatic nuisance species. Vendors of four different BWT systems who were interested in participating in the program invited the USCG to audit their treatment systems and test programs. The audits included observations of the treatment systems test operations along with a critical review of the data resulting from the performance evaluation tests conducted by the vendors. Elements assessed as part of the audits included the impacts of the treatment system on marine macro- and micro-biological organism. This report summarizes the audit program and findings of the four audits. The audit review team found that weaknesses in the experimental designs and analyses made it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the treatment performance of the BWT systems. The operational efficiency of these treatment systems had not been tested adequately. The overarching research problem that needs to be addressed by BWT technology testing is how effectively the treatment system inactivates or removes all species present in ballast water. Researchers were either not asking the right questions or not answering the questions asked. Testing should have included species-specific accounting of organism viability/propagation and physical removal of organisms.

Global Maritime Transport and Ballast Water Management
Global Maritime Transport and Ballast Water Management

Author: Matej David

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-11-06

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 9401793670

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Ballast water management is a complex subject with many issues and still limited knowledge, however, it is building up on new scientific researches and practical experience. The Ballast Water Management Convention is the global legal framework which still needs to be implemented. This book brings together a long-term and newest experience from practical work, scientific research, administration and policy involvements, offering unique insights to readers who would like to learn more about this subject. It also provides recommendations and practical solutions especially important for professionals, administrations and organizations in the process of the implementation of this Ballast Water Management Convention.

Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water
Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-08-27

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 0309215625

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The human-mediated introduction of species to regions of the world they could never reach by natural means has had great impacts on the environment, the economy, and society. In the ocean, these invasions have long been mediated by the uptake and subsequent release of ballast water in ocean-going vessels. Increasing world trade and a concomitantly growing global shipping fleet composed of larger and faster vessels, combined with a series of prominent ballast-mediated invasions over the past two decades, have prompted active national and international interest in ballast water management. Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water informs the regulation of ballast water by helping the Environnmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) better understand the relationship between the concentration of living organisms in ballast water discharges and the probability of nonindigenous organisms successfully establishing populations in U.S. waters. The report evaluates the risk-release relationship in the context of differing environmental and ecological conditions,including estuarine and freshwater systems as well as the waters of the three-mile territorial sea. It recommends how various approaches can be used by regulatory agencies to best inform risk management decisions on the allowable concentrations of living organisms in discharged ballast water in order to safeguard against the establishment of new aquatic nonindigenous species, and to protect and preserve existing indigenous populations of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and other beneficial uses of the nation's waters. Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water provides valuable information that can be used by federal agencies, such as the EPA, policy makers, environmental scientists, and researchers.