Significance of Early Warning System in the Water Ballast Management

Merchant ships are keeping ballast water in tanks to maintain seaworthy conditions. About three to five billion tonnes of ballast water have been transported by ships in a period of one year. The untreated ballast water may have a negative impact on the domicile marine species and marine environment. A significant element of risk reduction in spreading invasive species is Early Warning System for marine environment (EWS). Primarily, the Early Warning System has been developed in accordance with the requirement of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Convention on the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention). The main task of the EWS is to warn vessels to prevent the loading of ballast water when critical biological conditions occur in ports and the surrounding aquatorium. The aim of this paper is to improve EWS by introducing sensor technology to monitor and promptly act in reducing the risk of spreading Harmful Aquatic Organisms and Pathogens (HAOP) by ballast water which could be harmful to the recipient port or specific aquatorium.