Also included are reviews of accumulated scientific knowledge, presentations of the latest field research, education efforts and much more.
POSTPONED FROM LAST OCTOBER!!!
Important IMO Meetings
March 4-8 - Marine Environment Protection Committee - 47th Session
May 15-24 - Maritime Saftey Committee - 75th Session
Dec. 2002 - Conference on Maritime Security
Ballast Water - State of the Market
Expect the next two years to be dynamic ones in the developing ballast water
treatment industry. Long ago documented as a vector of transfer for nuisance aquatic species, experts have been devising means to combat this global menace.
International forces are finally coming together and the future of this market should be determined soon.
At the forefront is the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the nautical arm
of the United Nations, responsible for developing environmental and safety regulations for shipping. After over a decade of debate in committee, IMO's
directors recently set a deadline for their committee by announcing a Diplomatic Conference on Ballast Water for late 2003. This means that regulatory guidelines
need to be established and standards for determining effective ballast water treatment must be finalized by that time.
Potential Market
Using IMO's timeline as a guideline, Royal Haskoning Environmental Management and the NE-MW Institute published a paper on the potential for the ballast
technology market. Speaking at the Ballast Water Technology Fair in Chicago, Frans Tjallingi of Royal Haskoning said their paper describes worldwide market opportunities for ballast water (BW) treatment.
Tjallingi based the study on expert group and ship owner surveys as well as the Lloyds Register database of ships. The driving forces behind the BW technologies
market are regulations, says Tjallingi. At least 14 countries have already devised some form of law requiring mandatory BW treatment. IMO standards should be in
place by 2003, and the study expects worldwide acceptance and enforcement of IMO regulations by 2008.
The Royal Haskoning study makes a number of other key assumptions. They believe
smaller ships (under 1000 DWT) and ships over 10 yrs old do not represent a viable market for new ballast water technologies. These vessels will either be exempt from
regulations or will not be economically feasible to retrofit, say Tjallingi. The study also assumes that the first vessels for BW technologies will be those flagged under
high income countries such as USA, Great Britain or Norway.
The study identifies approximately 12,000 vessels that will use or adopt new ballast water treatment technologies by 2013.
Market Opportunities
The study identifies specific market opportunities in the following time frames:
2001- 2003 - expect a marginal market, investments primarily in research & development.
2003 - 2008 - the potential market is US $1.8 billion. Sales will concentrate upon approximately 3400 vessel retrofits and 2300 new vessels.
2008 - 2013 -
anticipate a potential market of US$ 3.5 - $5.4 billion. This is based on rules requiring all new vessels (5300 ships) to incorporate ballast water
treatment technologies and the remaining retrofit vessels under 10 yrs (12000 vessels).
Tjallangi notes that many market uncertainties and constraints exist that would
affect his predictions. An IMO ballast water convention may not be signed by 2003 or standards may not be in place. Enforcement of ballast water regulations may be
uncertain. Technologies better than ballast water exchange must be in place and the systems must meet the rigourous technical capacities of a sea going environment
The Evolving Market
The Royal Haskoning report sets the standard for the potential market. One could expect a 1.5 billion dollar market in the next seven years would attract numerous
investors into the fledgling technologies market. However, technology vendors indicate this is not the case.
Many vendors believe the opposite is happening. Private funding is very limited and
public funds in the US are quickly drying up. Funding in other pro-BW treatment nations has been nonexistent since the mid-90's according to experts in Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking at the Ballast Water Technology Fair in Chicago, a number of venture capitalists discussed why the prospects for new technology investments are so
dismal. George Lipper of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds said corporate venture capital funding is down 90% from 2000, and the entire private
funding market is at a standstill. He also indicated the ballast water technology market is in such an early stage of development that venture capitalists are not yet interested.
The crux of the problem is central to many environmental issues. The evolving ballast water treatment industry is regulations driven. Investors are naturally wary
of any industry developed due to regulatory change. Highly subject to the whim of the public, regulators often add or drop rules with little concern of the economic effect upon businesses dependent upon such rules.
The BW industry is facing the additional burden that regulations are still undetermined. Most distressing to scientists and technology vendors is the inability
of IMO and others to agree upon BW treatment standards. Standards are desperately needed to help ship owners decide the treatment technologies that are effective versus those that are not.
IMO General Assembly Resolutions
In reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11th in
the United States, the focus at the November meeting of IMO's General Assembly (GA) changed significantly from environmental issues to security issues. The GA is the chairmanship body of IMO that meets every two
years to determine budgets and priority issues for each biennium.
IMO will hold a Conference on Maritime Security in December of 2002 to discuss
and review measures underway to combat terrorism aboard ships and in port.
GA decisions affecting maritime environmental issues include:
Countries should make every effort to adopt the Convention to phase out harmful anti-fouling coatings as soon as possible (TBT Convention).
A Diplomatic Conference to adopt regulations on ballast water management for aquatic invasive species is scheduled for late 2003.
MARPOL Annex VI relating to control of air pollution from ships is still not implemented and the GA wants to know why countries are taking so long to adopt it.
Guidelines to designate Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas were established and agreed upon.
