The Ballast Water Contamination and How to Solve It

ballast-water-contamination

It is not only in the Philippines but all shipping companies experience this problem worldwide: ballast water contamination. According to Shipsbusiness.com, ballast water is carried by ships to maintain stability and seaworthiness, especially when the ship is not carrying cargo. This is a century old practice which is one of the mechanisms used by ships to safely transport cargoes and people throughout the years but in turn harms the marine ecosystem.

How? As explained by British Ecological Society:

When ships dock their cargo at a port, they have to take on vast amounts of sea water to maintain their stability, which is then dumped at the next destination…Apparently, a container can carry 100,000 m2 ballast water, which can contain a shocking 10,000 species, from bacteria and viruses to crabs and fish.

This is a good thing, right? The introduction of foreign species may contribute to the increase of biodiversity where the ballast water is released. The place would have more variety of fishes and other aquatic resources to choose from.

This is absolutely false.

Foreign marine species are considered invasive—the notorious ship stowaways. Here are some of the culprits and their cases:

Green Crab
As told by Ocean Portal, a considerable number of this, which is a native from Europe, was flushed out from the ships onto the waters of North America, Southern America, Australia, South Africa and Japan. The green crab was proven to be a nuisance to the commercial shellfish industry in the regions we’ve mentioned.

Comb Jelly

This aquatic foe was mentioned in the paper entitled “Marine Menace: Alien invasive species in the marine environment” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Comb jellies were from the Atlantic and were introduced to the waters of Black Sea in the early 1980s via ballast water. It didn’t just target one or two types of aquatic organisms. “The jellyfish wreaked havoc on the entire ecosystem of the Black Sea…By 1992, the annual losses caused by drops in commercial catches of marketable fish were estimated at least US$ 240 million.” This all happened because of a jellyfish.

Toxic Algae
Based on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report titled “Ballast Water Factsheet,” these were released on U.S. waters. It may cause harmful algae blooms, which is a natural occurrence on oceans and seas all over the world. However, because it is alien to the area “algal blooms may foul beaches, significantly impacting tourism and recreation,” the report states.

Cholera
This incident had a direct impact to humans. In the same NOAA report, this microbe called Vibrio cholera infested the drinking water of Peru. Almost one million were infected and an estimate of 10,000 people perished from this strain of human cholera.

Now that you’re convinced invasive species is a threat, is there a way to stop them?

Since this is a global problem, the International Marine Organization (IMO) formed the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention). It will enter into force on September 8, 2017. Below are the requirements of the BWM Convention:

  • A ship-specific ballast water management plan
  • Must carry a ballast record book
  • Must obtain a ballast water management certificate
  • Exchange ballast water mid-ocean
  • Must install an onboard ballast water treatment system

MarineInsight lists types of treatment systems:

  • Filtration systems
  • Chemical disinfection
  • Ultra-violet treatment
  • Deoxygenation treatment
  • Heat or thermal treatment
  • Acoustic treatment
  • Electric pulse/pulse plasma systems
  • Magnetic field treatment

Shipping companies in the Philippines have complied with the BWM Convention long before. Thru the initiative of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), they held the 4th Ballast Water Management (BWM) Training Course in Manila on 2013. PCG is responsible of enforcing maritime international conventions pursuant to Republic Act no. 9993 or the “Philippine Coast Guard Law of 2009” that shipping companies in the Philippines must adhere to.

An article to reach and teach is brought to you by NSMS, North Sea Marine Services Corporation aiming to provide quality kind of service to shipping companies.


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