Effects on inactivation of Tetraselmis suecica following treatment by KBAL: a UV-based ballast water treatment system with an in-line vacuum drop

Abstract The transfer of non-native, possibly invasive species in ship’s ballast water is of global concern, and the International Maritime Organization and U.S. Coast Guard have adopted standards to minimize the environmental footprint caused by the maritime industry. In this study, seawater spiked with the phytoplankter Tetraselmis suecica, was treated with Knutsen Ballast Water Treatment Technology (KBAL), combining UV irradiation with an in-line vacuum drop. The test water was subsequently incubated in dark tanks, simulating what happens onboard a ship, where ballast water is treated at intake, stored in dark ballast tanks during the voyage, and then treated at discharge. Our results of the test water treated with KBAL and stored 5 days in the dark showed < 10 viable T. suecica cells ml−1 when assessing reproduction and > 10 living cells ml−1 when assessing metabolism. This highlights the challenge UV-based BWTS can encounter when meeting testing regimes assessing different characteristics of life. By comparing the effects caused by KBAL treatment with effects caused by UV irradiation only, we demonstrated that the pressure/vacuum technology seems to improve the disinfection effect. In addition, our investigations point out possible challenges with in situ conditions getting representative ballast water samples.