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GlobalBallast WaterManagement Programme

A cooperative init iative of the Global Environment Facility,United Nations Development Programme and International Maritime Organization.

Stopping the ballastwater stowaways!


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The ProblemMarine species are being carried around the world in ships

ballast water. When discharged into new environments,they may become invasive and severely disrupt the

native ecology, impact economic activities such asfisheries and cause disease and even death in humans.

Invasive marine species are one of the fourgreatest threats to the worlds oceans.The other three are:

Land-based sources of marine pollution.

Over-exploitation of living marine

resources.

Physical alteration and destruction of

coastal and marine habitat.

GLOBAL BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

Unwanted Stowaways

A problem may arise when ballast water takenon by a ship contains unwanted marine organisms.These may be bacteria and other microbes, planktonicspecies, small invertebrates and the spores, eggs andlarvae of larger species.

The potential for species transfer is compounded by thefact that almost all marine species have planktonicstages in their life-cycle, which may be small enough topass through a ship s ballast water int ake port s andpumps. This means that species with adult stages thatare large or attached to the seabed, may still betransport ed in ballast water.

What is Ballast Water?Ballast is any material used to weight or balance anobject. One example is the sand-bags carried onconvent ional hot-air balloons. These can be d iscarded t olight en the balloon s load, allowing it to ascend.

In ships, ballast is used t o maintain balance, stabili ty andstructural integrity, especially when the ship is empty ofcargo. Ships have carried solid ballast , in the f orm ofrocks, sand and metal, fo r t housands of years. Modernships use water as ballast .

Ship discharg ing ballast- Steve Raaymakers

Crab larva- Roger Steene


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The ImpactsMost species carried in ships ballast water do notsurvive the voyage. Most of those that do, do notsurvive when discharged int o t he new environment.Under cert ain circumstances some species do survive t oform viable populations, and may become serious pests.

Impacts can be divided into three maincategories:

Ecological: when the native biodiversit y and/orecological processes may be disrupted by theinvading species. It is est imated t hatint roduced marine species invade newenvironments somewhere in t he wor ld on aweekly to daily basis.1

Economical: when f isheries, coastal industryand other commercial act ivit ies and resourcesare disrupted by t he invading species. It isest imated that the cost of all invasive speciesexceed US$138 billion per year in the USAalone! 2

Human health: when toxic organisms, diseasesand pathogens are introduced throughballast water, causing illness and even deathin humans.

There are hundreds of examples of severe ecological,

economical and human health impacts from invasivemarine species around the world. Some outstandingexamples include:

The European Zebra Mussel Dreissenapolymorpha:Introduced to the NorthAmerican Great Lakes. It has spread to infestmore t han 40% of US waterways, fouls thecooling-water intakes of industry. It may havecost between US$750 mil lion and US$1 bill ionin cont rol measures f rom 1989 to 2000.3

Zebra Mussels- Sergei Olenin

Once established, it is virtually impossibleto control an invasive marine species.Impacts are usually irreversible.

The North Pacific Seastar Asterias amurensis:Introduced to southern Australia.This voracious predator threatens commercialstocks of shel lf ish species such as oysters andscallops. This large Seastar is a prolificbreeder and in one estuary alone inTasmania reached an estimated totalpopulation of nearly 30 million individuals,at densit ies greater t han any recorded in it snative range.4

Nort h Pacifi c Seastar- CSIRO Australia

Toxic dinoflagellates: Spread t o severallocations around t he wor ld t hrough shipsballast water. Under f avourable conditionsthese micro algae may bloom to fo rm redtides. If absorbed into f ilt er-feeding shellfi shsuch as oysters and scallops, they may releasetoxins. This can cause paralysis or death inhumans who eat the contaminated shellfi sh.

Toxic dinof lagellates- Gustaaf Hallegraeff



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The ProgressGuidelines

In response to this global

threat, the InternationalMaritime Organization (IMO)has developed Guidelines forthe cont rol and managementof ships ballast water, tominimise the transfer ofharmfu l aquati c organismsand pathogens- IMOAssembly Resolut ionA.868(20). The guidelinesrecommend a number ofmeasures aimed at:

Minimising the uptake of organisms duringballasting.

Minimising the build-up of sediments in ballasttanks, which may harbour organisms.

Undertaking ballast water managementmeasures, including ballast exchange at sea,to minimise the transfer of organisms.

They also provide for vessel-specific ballast watermanagement plans, record keeping and reporting andpor t -based management practices. The Guidelines areavailable on t he GloBallast websit e,http://globallast.imo.org.

Model Management Plan

To assist ships incomplying with t heIMO Guidelines, theInternational Chamberof Shipping (ICS) and theInternational Associationof Independent TankerOwners (INTERTANKO)have produced aModel Ballast WaterManagement Plan.Contact [email protected]

Regulation

IMO member countries are also developing a new

international convent ion t o provide a standardised,global regulato ry regime for t he management of ballastwater. Negot iations and draf ting are at an advancedstage and it i s anticipated that t he convention w ill beadopted in 2003.

Research & Development

In recognition of the safety, operational andenvironmental limit ations of the currently recommendedpractice of ballast exchange at sea, there are a largenumber of R&D projects being carried out around t heworld t o develop more eff ecti ve ballast w ater treatmentmethods. Options being considered include:

Mechanical and physical treatment such asfiltration, separation and sterilisation usingozone, ultra-violet light, electric currents andheat treatment.

Chemical treatment such as adding biocides toballast water to kill organisms.

All of these possibilities currently require significantfurther research. Any control measure that is developedmust meet a number of crit eria, including:

It must be safe.

It must be environmentally acceptable.

It must be cost-effective.

It must w ork.

The GloBallast websit e cont ains a global di rectory ofballast water treatment R&D projects.


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Technical Assistance

IMO has joined forces with the Global EnvironmentFacility (GEF) and the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) to assist developing countries toreduce the t ransfer of invasive marine species inballast water.

The Global Ballast Water Management Programme(GloBallast) i s working th rough six init ial demonstrationsites to implement the existing IMO guidelines andprepare for the new international regulatory regime.

Activities

Technical assistance activities being carried out underGloBallast include:

Education and awareness.

Ballast water risk assessments.

Port baseline surveys.

Ballast water sampling.

Training of port and shipping personnel in

ballast water management practices.

Assistance with laws and regulations.

Self financing mechanisms.

The initial demonstration sites will be replicated in eachregion as the programme develops.

The Programme

IMO member countries are developing a newint ernational convention to provide a standardised,global regulatory regime for t he management ofballast water.

Facts & Figures

Shipping carries more t han 80% of theworlds commodi t ies and is essent ial t o

the global economy.

A single bulk cargo ship of 200,000 tonnes cancarry up to 60,000 tonnes of ballast water.

Ballast water is essent ial t o t he balance,

stabili ty and structu ral int egrity of a shipwhen i t is empty of cargo. Ships MUSTuse bal last .

It is estimated t hat around 3 to 10 billiontonnes of ballast water are carried aroundthe world each year. Studies are underw ay to

define this more clearly.5

It is estimated t hat more than 7,000 diff erentspecies are carried around t he world in shipsballast each day.6

It is estimated that the cost of all invasivespecies is in the vicinity of US$138 billion per

year in t he USA alone! 2

Shipping is increasing and greater quantitiesof ballast water are being carried morequickly and more f requently t o an increasingnumber of new destinations.

Invasive marine species are one of the f ourgreatest threats to our oceans.

The Global Ballast Water ManagementProgramme is working to address this threat.


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GloBallast Demonstration Sites

Demonstration Site Pilot Country Region

Dalian China Asia/Pacif ic

Khark Is I.R. Iran ROPME Sea Area & Red Sea

Mumbai India South Asia

Odessa Ukraine Eastern Europe

Saldanha South Africa Africa

Sepet iba Brazil South America

IMO

UNDP

GEF

GEF - Washington DC

(Funding Agency)

UNDP - New York

(Implementing Agency)IMO - London

(Executing Agency)

UN Agencies


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Development Objectives Assist developing countries to reduce the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms in

ships ballast water.

Assist developing count ries to implement the IMO Ballast Water guidelines (A.868(20))

and prepare fo r t he new IMO Ballast Water Convention.

Timeline Init ially t hree years March 2000 to March 2003, extended by 1 year to M arch 2004.

Initial funding US$7.4 mi llion f rom Global Environment Facili ty (GEF). US$2.8 milli on support -in-kind

from participating countries.

Implementation United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Execution International Maritime Organization (IMO), through Programme Coordination Unit (PCU).Recipients/beneficiaries Initially, six pilot count ries/demonstration sites, t o be replicated th roughout regions.

Partners Shipping and port industr ies, international environment al non-government

organisations, other part ies as programme develops.

Activities Establish Programme Coordination Unit at IMO, compr ising Chief Technical Adviser,

Technical Adviser, Programme Assistant and support.

Establish Inf ormation Clearing House including w ebsit e, databases/director ies, lib rary

collection, newsletter and global communications system.

Establi sh and support Lead Agency, Count ry Focal Point (CFP), Count ry Project Task

Force (CPTF) and CFP Assistant in each pilot country.

Establi sh Global coordinat ion arrangement s Global Project Task Force (GPTF). Develop and implement communication, education and awareness raising

programmes.

Undertake Ballast Water Risk Assessments to assess risk of introductions of marine

species at each demonstration site.

Undertake Port Baseline Surveys of nat ive bio ta and int roduced marine species at

each demonstration site.

Develop Training Packages to t rain Lead Agency, port and shipping personnel in ballast

water management measures as contained in IMO guidelines.

Review legislat ion relevant to ballast water in each count ry and advise/assist

improvements. Develop and implement Nat ional ballast water management p lans fo r each pilot count ry.

Hold global R&D symposium to review scope for new ballast water management and

treatment measures and coordinate R&D agenda.

Develop Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement (CME) systems for each demonstration

site, including ballast water sampling equipment and training.

Form Regional Task Forces (RTFs), support RTF meetings and study tours to the

demonstration sites by personnel from neighbouring count ries.

Identify long term economic instruments that can be used to resource in-country

ballast water management arrangements.

Hold Strategic Directions/Donor Conference to provide sustainable continuity of theprogramme.

Programme SummaryGlobalBallast Water

Management Programme


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2nd Edit ion July 2002

Further Information

Programme Coordination UnitGlobal Ballast Water M anagement Programme

International Maritime Organization4 Albert Embankment London SE1 7SR United Kingdom

Tel +44 (0)20 7587 3247 or 3251

Fax +44 (0)20 7587 3261Web htt p://globallast.imo.org

ProducedbytheGloBallast

PCUDesignedandprintedbyDanielWest&Associates


1. Carlt on, J.T. 2002. Personal Communication.

2. Pimentel, D., Lach, L., Zuniga, L. and Morrison, D. 2000. Environmental and economic costs of nonindigenous species inthe Unit ed Stat es. BioScience 50:53-65.

3. ONeill, C. R. 2000. Cited in: Carlton, J.T. 2001. Int roduced Species in U.S. Coastal Waters: Environmental Impacts andManagement Priori ti es. Pew Oceans Commission, Arlington VA.

4.

C.L. Goggin (Ed.). 1998. Proceedings of a meeting on the biol ogy and management o f the int roduced seastar Asteriasamurensisin Australian waters. Cent re f or Research on Int roduced Mar ine Pests Technical Repor t No. 15CSIRO, Hobart.

5. Andersen, A.B., Gollasch, S. & Rigby, G. 2002. Personal Communications.

6. Carlt on, J. T. 1999. The scale and ecological consequences of biological invasions in the w orld's oceans, pp. 195-212. in:Odd Terje Sandlund, Peter Johan Schei, and uslaug Viken, editors, Invasive Species and Biod iversit y Management .Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 431 pp.

References

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