Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft

Trainingszentrum MS Emsstrom mbH

Ballast Water Management

and Ballast Water Treatment

GGT Emsstrom mbH

 Ballast water management and
treatment
Syllabus

1. The problem - Marine species

2. IMO Resolution
3. USCG - Regulation 33CFR 151
4. Ballast water treatment methods
5. Ballast water management ( IMO and USCG )
6. Ballast water management strategy
7. Procedures and reporting on board
8. Safety precaution
9. Training of the crew
10. Ballast water treatment - the different ways and
methods
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 Ballast water management and
treatment

The problem :

Marine species are being carried around the world in ship’s

ballast water and ballast water tanks. When we are discharging
the ballast water, these marine species are become invasive and
can severely influence the water ecology

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Ballast water management and treatment

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 Ballast water management and treatment
Now - a -days the ballast water capacity of the ships are steadily
increasing. Ballast is any material used to weight or balance
an object. The ship’s ballast will be used to maintain a certain
stability and structural integrity. For example: A 200.000 DWT
Bulk carrier has a ballast capacity of ~ 60.000 tons .
If ballast is taken on a ship, unwanted marine organism are also
at the same time taken. These are spores, eggs, larvae or larger
species. Fact is that almost all marine species have planktonic
stages in their life- cycle. They are small enough to pass the
ballast water intake parts ( filter and pumps ).
These species will be transported via the ballast water in other
regions, where the can destroy the marine environment.

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 Ballast water management and
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Guidelines to solve the problem :
The IMO has developed voluntary Guidelines for the control and
management of ship’s ballast water, to minimise the transfer of
harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens. (IMO Resolution
A.868(20) The guidelines are recommending the following
measures :
• Minimising the uptake of organism during ballasting
• Minimising the build-up of sediments in ballast tanks,
which may harbour organism
• Undertaking ballast water management measures, including
Ballast exchange at sea, to minimise the transfer of organism

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 Ballast water management and
treatment
At the same time the US have brought out a regulation ( CFR 33
Part 151, USCG - 2003 - 14273 )regarding Ballast water
management. [ Mandatory ballast water management program
for U.S. Waters ] This program will also comply with the
requirements of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention
Control Act of 1990 and the National Invasive Species Act of
1996. This rule is effective as from the 27.September 2004.

As from the year 2009, the IMO requires no longer a BWM, from
this time on a ballast water treatment system must be on board of
ship’s, equipped with ballast water tanks

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 Ballast water management and
treatment
Ballast water treatment methods :

• Mechanical and physical treatment such as filtration,

separation and sterilisation using ozone, ultra-violet light,
electric current and heat treatment.

• Chemical treatment such as adding biocides to ballast

water to kill organism.

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 Ballast water management and
treatment
Any of these control measures must meet a number of criteria:

• It must be safe
• It must be environmentally acceptable
• It must be cost - effective
• It must work

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Ballast water management and
treatment
Activities which have to be carried out :

• Education and awareness

• Ballast water risk assessment
• Port baseline surveys
• Ballast water sampling
• Training of port and shipping personnel in ballast
water management practices

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 Ballast water management and treatment

The USCG Ruler on Ballast water management :

The mandatory program requires all vessels equipped with
ballast water tanks entering U.S waters after operating beyond
the EEZ to employ at least one BWM practice . These practices
are :

• Prior to discharging ballast water in U.S waters, perform

complete ballast water exchange in area no less than
200 nm from a shore and at least a water depth of > 200 m.
• Retain ballast water on board
• Prior to the vessel entering U.S waters, use an alternative
environmentally sound method of BWM that has been
approved by the U.S coast guard.
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 Ballast water management and
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The Coast Guard recognizes that there are two currently
feasible methods of conducting an exchange :

• An empty/refill exchange:
the tank ( or pair of tanks ) is pumped down to the point
where the pumps lose suction, and than the tank is
pumped back to the original level.

• A flow-through exchange :
Mid ocean water is pumped into a full tank while the
existing coastal or fresh water is pumped or pushed
out through another opening. As defined by the Coast
Guard a volume of water equal three times the ballast
tank capacity, must be pumped for a flow through exchange.

Each vessel subject to the rule 33 CFR part 151 subpart D, will be required to
develop and maintain a BWM plan

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Ballast water management and
treatment
What should this plan fulfill :

1. Show that there is BWM strategy for the vessel

2. Allow any master, or other ship’s officer as appropriate,

serving on a vessel to understand and follow the
BWM strategy for the vessel.

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Ballast water management and treatment

GGT Emsstrom mbH

Ballast water management and treatment

GGT Emsstrom mbH

Ballast water management and treatment

GGT Emsstrom mbH

Ballast water management and treatment

GGT Emsstrom mbH

Ballast water management and treatment

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 Ballast water management and
treatment
Future Treatment Requirements

The U.S states are releasing single requirements. See article below.
The result will be ,that all operators, trading in U.S waters must
implement already a BW Treatment prior 2009.

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Ballast water management and
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PROCEDURES FOR SHIPS

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 Ballast water management and
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1. Every ship that carries ballast water should be provided
with a ballast water management plan. The intent of the
plan should be provide safe and effective procedures for
ballast water management.

2. The BWM plan should be specific for each ship

3. The plan should include the ship’s operational documentation

- approval documentation relevant to treatment equipment
- and indication of record required
- location of possible sampling point
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Ballast water management and
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Recording and reporting

procedures

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 Ballast water management and treatment
1. To facilitate the administration of ballast water management
and treatment procedures on board, a responsible officer
should be appointed , to ensure that the procedures are
followed and recorded.

2. When the ballast water treatment/management is impractical

due to bad weather, sea condition or operational impracticability
the master should report this fact to the port state authority as
soon as possible and prior entering seas under its jurisdiction

3. A recording form , for ballasting and de-ballasting to be presented

to the port authorities, which shows all relevant parameters.

4. The location and suitable access points for sampling ballast or

sediments should be described in the BWM plan

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Ballast water management and
treatment

Safety Precautions

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Ships engaged in ballast water exchange should also provide
procedures to ensure the safety of the vessel during ballast water
exchange operation. These precautions are also part of the BWM -Plan.
Procedures which account are :

• Avoidance of over- and under -pressurization of ballast tanks

• Free surface effect on stability
• weather condition
• weather routeing in areas seasonably affected by tropical storms
or heavy icing condition
• maintenance of adequate intact stability in accordance with
an approved trim and stability booklet
• Strength limits of shear forces and bending moments
• Torsional forces, where relevant
• Min.and max. forward and aft draft
• wave - induced hull vibration
• documented records pf ballasting and/or de-ballasting
• Contingency procedures for situations which affect the
ballast water exchange ( pump failure, loss of power etc. )
• Time to complete the ballast water exchange, taking into
account that the ballast water may represent 50% of the
total cargo capacity for some ships
• Monitoring and controlling the amount of ballast water
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Ballast water management and
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Safety Precautions if using the

flow through method

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 Ballast water management and
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Caution should be exercised, since :

• air pipes are not designed for continuous ballast water

overflow
• At least three full volumes of the tank capacity could be
needed to be effective when filling clean water from the
bottom and overflowing from the top
• Certain watertight and weathertight closures which may
be opened during ballast exchange, should be re - secured

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Ballast water management and
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Other Precautions

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Ballast water management and
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1. Ballast water exchange should not be carried out and
avoided in freezing weather condition

2. Some ships may need the fitting of loading instruments

to perform calculation of shear forces and bending
moments induced by ballast water exchange at sea,
to compare with the permissible strength limits

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Ballast water management and
treatment

Crew training

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 Ballast water management and treatment
Ship officers and ratings engaged in ballast water exchange
should be trained in and familiarized with the following:

1. The ship’s pumping plan and pipe line arrangement

plan, air - and sounding pipe arrangement.
In the case the flow through method is used also all
arrangements and locations of openings used for release
of water from the top together with the overboard
discharge arrangement.
2. Methods of ensuring that sounding pipes are clear, and that
air pipes and their non- return devices are in good order
3. The different times required to undertake the various
ballast water exchange operations
4. The method used for ballast water exchange at sea with the
particular references to the required safety precautions
5. The method of on-board ballast water record keeping
reporting and recording of routine soundings

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Ballast water management and
treatment

BALLAST WATER TREATMENT

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 Ballast water management and
treatment
As per January 2009 the ballast water treatment for ships
will be mandatory.

In the moment there are different methods for the treatment

of ballast water under development.
Following treatments are suitable on board of ships

• Heat treatment
• UV Treatment
• Filtration
• Filtration and UV Treatment
• Oxidat and Reduct Treatment
• Cyclone ( hydro cyclone ) separation
• Oxygen treatment
• Ozone treatment
• Ballast water management ( mid - ocean ) treatment
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Ballast water management and treatment
Heat Treatment

The viability of heat treatment as a mean of minimising the

risk of introducing new organism into the port where ballast
is discharged.
Laboratory experiments have shown that toxic dinoflaggellate cyst are
killed 4-5 hours at 38° C. The ballast water will reach and exceed this
38° after 30 hrs of heating.
Effect . None of the zooplankton and only limited phytoplamkton surved
the heat treatment.
Positive: No biocides are needed. Not harmful to the environment. It is
safe, because no ballast water exchange required.

Negative: Depends on the length of the ship’s voyage, the surrounding

seawater temperature. Risk that cyst will survive at the bottom
of the tank ( in the sediments )
For ships with short trips not useful

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 Ballast water management and
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Oxygen Deprivation

This method is using the reduction of oxygen in the

ballast water to kill organism.
The level of oxygen must be lowered to less than 3 mg l(-l)
The effect is that it kills the Urdaria zoospores and Coscinasterias
calamaria larvae

This kind of method have to more proofed and more re -searches

have to be done.

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 Ballast water management and treatment
UV Treatment

If using a benchtop and meocosm-scale system, it was

determinded that an effective UV treatment for ballast water
would require a dose in the region of 200 mW sec cm² at flow
rates above 1000 gallons per min.
To effectivley treat large vessels many systems would have to be
mounted in parallel and the over power requirements would be
in the megawatt range.

Maintenance coasts seems in the moment also higher than thought.

UV bulbs are expensive. Exchanging of these bulbs seems to be
also not so easy.
On the other hand UV treatment is only useful in tanks with no
shadow parts. UV will not effective in darkness.
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 Ballast water management and
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Combined UV - Biocide Treatment

Using 200mW sec cm² with a 32 kW system,

flow rate ca. 350tons/ h and two biocides, about 94% of the zoo-
plankton was killed.
The combination out of all three treatments were effective in
inhibiting phytoplankton growth at lower doses.

No primary separation / filtration is required

Disadvantages of the UV treatment see previous slide.

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 Ballast water management and
treatment
UV Treatment in Combination with
Filtration

Experiments showed that UV procedures by filtration to

remove sediments and larger organism as having the most
potential as an effective ballast water treatment at doses
which could be cost effective.
Ultraviolet light and membrane filtration will disinfect the
ballast water.

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Ballast water management and
treatment
Oxidat and Reduct treatment
The whole system is based on two
components, the Oxidat and the Reduct.
It is a chemical - electrical system, also known
as diaphragmalyse system.
This system has a nearly 100% killing effect of all
oceanic organism.
The secound effect : The ballast water tank himself
will also disinfected and no bacteria will be left over
The third effect: During discharging of ballast water,
the exchange will be controlled and by means of a
pump additional disinfectant will treat the ballast
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water. No harm to the environment. - Safe in use
Ballast water management and
treatment
The system is compatible with other systems,
takes not so much space ( interesting for
smaller ships ) and meets the criteria of the
IMO . Is cost effective.

The Oxidat/Reduct system can be also used ,

as well as the UV light treatment, for disinfecting
the freshwater, sewage water etc.
The system will reach his best effect, with a
primary filtration system ( 50µm ). Results up to
100%.

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 Ballast water management and
treatment
Mechanical separation

Most of the mechanical separation methods are based on

a filtration system and a secondary UV light treatment. For the
UV treatment a Hydrocyclone UV unit will be used.

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 Ballast water management and treatment
Mid - Ocean Ballast water exchange
The aim is to understand the behaviour of ballast water tank
sediments and identify procedures to minimise the transfer of
marine organism.
This system ( see also ballast water management ) is unsafe as a
general practise on board of ships. The bending and shear forces,
indicated whilst emptying and refilling ballast, can drastically
influence the ships construction.
This methods must meet a three tank volume exchange of ballast
water. The effectiveness and efficiency was less.

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