A STUDY OF SHIP BALLAST WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND TECHNIQUES

Ballast is a commonly used solution to ensure the stability and balance of ships during voyages. The volume of ballast water that is circulated by ships between different seas is extremely large, with which a lot of creatures move along. Organisms that follow the ballast water to a new environment mostly have a negative impact on the ecosystem there. Good ballast water management is an important measure to ensure that organisms do not migrate with the ballast water to other areas. Ballast water management requires specific regulations and regulatory policies that are relevant and applicable globally. The International Convention on the Control and Management of Ballast Water and Ship Sediments, adopted in 2004, has specified issues for ballast water management. Ballast water treatment technologies and techniques need to be studied so that the ballast water after treatment meets the requirements of the convention. This paper presents an overview of the technological and technical solutions currently being applied to treat ballast water to meet the requirements of the convention and points out the advantages and limitations of each solution. In the discussion, the authors also present a solution that combines many different ballast water treatment methods. This is a very effective solution, both technically and cost-effectively. The combined solution can be applied in the future to effectively treat ship ballast water.