General Ballast Water System Related and Installation Criteria Requirements

In order to minimise the risk associated with the discharge of harmful aquatic invasive species resulting from ballast water transfers, the ballast water management system should be adequately effective, under the range of typical vessel operating conditions, without adversely impacting the safety of shipboard personnel or the vessel. Moreover, the operation of the system must safeguard the marine environment into which the ballast water is to be discharged. Subsequently, the ballast water management system is to meet international protocols in accordance with the various environmental conditions, aquatic organisms, flow rates, volumes and retention times under enforcement at the current time. Due to the wide range of factors associated with ballast water treatment, various treatment methods have been developed, or are in the process of being developed, for installation onboard ship. Type Approval of a system, however, does not ensure that any given system will work on all vessels or indeed in all operational conditions.