Shipping as a Vector for New Species Introductions A panel of experts from the USCG, industry and research discussed how shipping has progressed in the fight against invasive species. These
experts were asked about new technologies available for ballast water treatment and what type of impediments are there towards full-scale implementation on-board ships.Jack Brabban of TeeKay Shipping felt that one of
the major barriers to acceptance of new ballast water technologies was confusion on the part of ships and its' operators. Many technologies seemed too complex to be accepted quickly by the shipping industry.
Mario Tamburri of the Univ. of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, felt that new technologies need more of a commitment from government agencies to help support their development. Such a commitment needs to
come in terms of available financial support as well as technology verification.  Richard Everett of the USCG is working closely on the technology verification process. Everett felt that he has not seen very many technologies that
have proven themselves ready to be adapted for use on ships. He felt the vendors must know the dose relationships, i.e. exactly how much treatment will be required to make the ballast
water clean. Before a technology gets on a ship the technology must validate that it can deliver a critical dose.
Most experts agreed on one thing. There is
currently a serious lack of available funding for the entire problem of nonindigenous species and in particular those invasive species that are entering via the ballast water of ships. A brief summary of selected presentations is below:  Cdr. Patrick Gerrity, - Preventing Aquatic Nonindigenous Species in the U.S. Gerrity, from the USCG 9th
District discussed the current status of U.S. regulations regarding ballast water management for nonindigenous species. As of June 2002, the USCG reports only 30% of ships have
voluntarily reported their ballast water management (BWM) practices. The USCG is now formalizing mandatory ballast water management requirements for vessels calling U.S. waters. Future regulations may include:
- Penalties for failing to report BWM.
- Requirement that ALL vessels conduct active BWM.
- Award approvals of shipboard technologies.
- Establish quantitative ballast water (BW) discharge standards.
The USCG is working on ways to verify whether or not vessels have conducted BW exchange or some
other form of BW treatment. The current use of salinity measurements has limitations such as distinguishing between open ocean and coastal waters.
Gerrity also noted that the USCG and US EPA are working on technology testing protocols to verify new BW treatment technologies. The USCG is promoting incentive programs to get ship owners to
install new treatment technologies on their vessels. The proposed regulations are expected to be introduced by July or August 2003. |
