Ten Myths about Ballast Water Treatment

in Expert Views 30 April 2015

Our experience and knowledge on the ten myths about Ballast Water Treatment are as follows:
1. Ship owners organizations will force IMO to postpone the ratification of the
International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships Ballast Water and
Sediments (BWM). This myth was debunked, as it was clarified that this is not going to
happen.
2. With all the ballast water being carried around the world, it is too late to protect the
environment. This was the second myth that Erma Firsts International Sales Manager
debunked, stressing out that every nine weeks invasive species introduce successfully in
the marine environment causing even greater damage than an oil spill, situation that is not
going to change unless we apply efficient measures.
3. Port Authorities will not fine ship owners that will miss the deadlines for Ballast Water
Treatment System (BWTS) installment. It was refuted that port authorities will not impose
fines, as there are no indications that this is a potential scenario when relevant regulation
comes into force.
4. There will be not enough suppliers of Ballast Water Treatment Systems. It was clearly
noted, more than 50 makers of Ballast Water Treatment Systems have been granted IMO
Basic Approval, between 35 and 40 systems have been granted IMO Final Approval, over
50 systems have been granted Type Approval by their Administration and more are under
development and in various stages of the approval process.
5. The Ballast Water Treatment System makers will not have capacity to supply to all
vessels. The truth was restored as it was explained that nowadays more BWTS makers
are entering the market, able to handle the increased demand for BWTS and supply all
vessels.
6. Prices of Ballast Water Treatment Systems will soon go down as more makers enter the
market and the demand increases. It was stressed out that the increase of suppliers does
not necessarily entail significant BWTS cost reduction. On the contrary, increased
demand and regulatory pressure could cause price rise.
7. Environmental factors dont affect performance. As it was highlighted, salinity, turbidity
and temperature all affect BWTS performance in one way or another.
8. The ship always needs to be in dry dock for a Ballast Water Treatment System retrofit.
This myth was debunked, as it was explained that retrofit is possible on voyage on the
condition that all the necessary preparations have been made.

9. Installing a BWT system is easy. Ship-owners often underestimate the complexity of a

BWTS installation. It is much more than just buying a system and plugging it in, since for
existing ships BWTS is additional equipment that had not been predicted during
construction.
10. It only takes a couple of months to get a Ballast Water Treatment system. Concerning the
time of delivery, as it was mentioned, at the moment it ranges from six to eight months
but as Ballast Water Management Convention and USCG deadlines approach, the
demand drives up and the time required for delivery is likely to increase.

Above article is edited from Mr.Caspersens presentation