found its way to North America in the late 1980s. Its numbers have exploded, impacting upon sea life such as crayfish and turtles (which it sticks to) and damaging manmade structures, vessels and navigation equipment. Arguably, it is the energy industry that has been hit hardest, as the mussel has a habit of colonizing, and chronically clogging, the pipes that transport cooling water to coal-fired power stations. Mangset stated that this issue alone has cost the sector, and therefore society, several billion dollars to tackle (the cost of managing the pest in the Great Lakes area alone is said to exceed $500 million per annum).
Leading from the front Mangset acknowledged the cost of installing BWT systems was problematic for an industry facing its own economic issues, but stressed that this paled in comparison against the cost to society. “In the 2009 report, before much of the BWT technology was refined to the level that it is today, it was estimated that the cost to industry of treating ballast water was between 2 and 40 U.S. cents per ton. That will have come down significantly today. The cost to society of not treating ballast water was 70 cents per ton, and that’s probably gone up. “Put simply, we can’t afford not to do this.” Robin Tomren, PGS’ maritime technical manager, agreed. The seismic surveying operator has leapt ahead of convention ratification to install BWT systems in its four new Titan Class Ramform vessels from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, the first of which was delivered in May. These huge vessels—their back decks span 70 meters and boast the capacity to operate 24 streamers (an industry first)— are designed for efficiency, as well as power, and hint at PGS’ wider ambitions. “We’re a forerunner in terms of the technology we have developed and the vessels we use, and we have a desire to be at the front when it comes to environmental standards, too,” Tomren explained. “We saw ballast water treatment as an important part of that ambition.”
Plan, plan, plan PGS has opted for Optimarin BWT systems in its vessels. Optimarin, which installed the industry’s first ballast water unit in 2000, is a leading supplier recognized for its simple, reliable and easily installed and maintained systems, but it too is frustrated by the sense of inertia that surrounds the convention. S6 MARINE LOG August 2013
Hanna Lee Behrens, Director, NSA
Birgir Nielsen, the firm’s VP of business development, said that his company’s own research—talking to competitors and shipowners across the globe—illustrated that between 2,000 and 2,500 BWT systems have now been ordered. Optimarin has sold 220 units and over 70 have now been installed. He commented: “You don’t have to be a mathematician to see that that leaves a large percentage of the world fleet that have yet to take action. This is something that needs to change. There will be huge bottlenecks— perhaps not in manufacturing, but certainly in logistics and services—when the convention is ratified and there is a sudden wave of demand. “The only way for shipowners to sidestep this and protect their operations, and the environment, is to plan. So that’s my advice—plan, plan, plan for ballast water treatment,” he stresses, “and sooner rather than later.” All four round table participants were confident that the convention will soon be ratified, but emphasized that tangible action was needed rather than further delays. Last month’s IMO MEPC 65 draft resolution, that effectively delays BWT installation for ships built prior to final ratification, was not exactly welcomed by the panel, but was seen as a possible catalyst for kick-starting renewed activity. “At least, finally, it should get rid of the remaining barriers to ratification,” opined Mangset, adding: “We’ve been waiting almost 10 years for this and now, well, there really are no more excuses. Let’s get the industry moving on this!” ■