SLICK TALK #27

s reported in Slick Talk No. 26 by Steve Raaymakers in the last issue of Reef Research, in May 1999 the Association of Australian Ports and Marine Authorities and the Ports Corporation of Queensland (PCQ) jointly organised a workshop on the current state of play regarding ballast water. Since then the proceedings of the workshop have been published as one of the EcoPorts Monograph series (Hillman 1999) by PCQ.

The Ports Corporation has for a number of years been actively addressing the issue of ballast water management and has now surveyed five ports for invasive organisms. At this point in time no pest species have been found, although, given the limited state of knowledge regarding the distribution of tropical species, there is still no room for complacency. Even though the risk assessment that was commissioned by PCQ and most other Queensland Port Authorities (Hilliard and Raaymakers 1997) found that risks of invasions are low due to the differences in environmental parameters at ‘source’ and ‘sink’ ports, there is a still a significant potential risk. This is evidenced by the outbreak of black striped mussels in Darwin marinas earlier this year (Pyne 1999).

The key recommendation of the workshop was that technical treatment solutions to the problem could and should be further developed through to the implementation stage as a matter of urgency. As an initial step to further this, the Ports Corporation commissioned Darren Oemcke of Gutteridge, Haskins and Davey to scope arrangements for an Australian consortium that could develop on-board treatment options for ballast water. Darren was engaged to do this because of his significant contribution to the field of international ballast water research over the past few years. This scoping document has been sent to potentially interested organisations such as government, ports and port users for their consideration and potential support.

There are a number of valid and different approaches to the disinfection of ballast water and one of these is a combination of initial filtration or cyclone/centrifuge followed by exposure to ultra-violet light. Darren’s research has shown that this is a particularly promising way of dealing with the issue if a ship-based system is to be developed. While there is some developmental work taking place overseas, the consortium’s approach will differ in that it will use ‘off-the-shelf’ components and not be tied to the commercialisation and development of a particular product. It is proposed to build on the overseas results and ‘value add’ to them in a practical, non-duplicative manner. When sufficient funding and/or in-kind support is found, the consortium will be established and a shore-based pilot plant built. Design data will be developed to examine solids loading rates and removal efficiencies of filters and cyclones, UV penetration of treated waters and the effect of UV dose on target organisms. While not, at this stage, a ship-borne system, this has an advantage in that testing is not restricted to when a ship is in port or the ports that the particular vessel visits. It will also be flexible and able to be varied relatively simply to determine appropriate designs under a wide range of conditions. For example, it could be moved to Tasmania to test effectiveness against the northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis or dinoflagellate algal blooms, or taken to ports that have high sediment loads. Despite being shore-based, the design of the facility will be such that it will be transferable to ship-board operations.

The Commonwealth Government’s Australian Quarantine Inspection Service is currently developing a Decision Support System (DSS) to categorise ships based on the risk they could impose due to ballast water. It is not yet clear what management actions will be taken for ships that pose a high risk, but it seems timely and necessary to explore practical and cost-efficient treatment options for ballast water that may not be able to be discharged in Australian ports.

The Ports Corporation will continue to act as facilitator for the consortium development and will continue its involvement in the reduction of the risk of ballast water transfers of exotic species. Organisations that can provide assistance for the project are urged to contact the author.

It is anticipated that the total project, including equipment purchase, will cost about $900 000 over three years. Already a number of equipment suppliers have indicated that they would support the project if it proceeds which will reduce overall costs. While $900 000 may seem a large amount of money, it should be considered against the cost of demurrage for a ship of Panamax’s size which can be as high as US$10 000 per day.

Recommendations of the Workshop

Participants at the workshop ‘The Ballast Water Problem — Where to from here?’ agreed that the long-term objective of ballast water management in Australia is to identify, adopt and implement the ultimate solution to the introduced marine species issue. All activities undertaken by Australia in this area will be directed at achieving this objective in an integrated, coordinated and collaborative manner. It is recognised by all participants that there is little likelihood that there will be one solution to a complex issue. It is more likely that there will be a number of different methodologies which will be applied to different aspects of the issue.

A summary of the main recommendations of the workshop appears below.

The Federal Government, through the Oceans Policy and the National Heritage Trust, as well as all State/Territory Governments, should be requested to contribute to the funding of port baseline studies and to the subsequent management of ballast water issues.

All baseline studies need to be completed in the next one to two years and a review of resource availability should be undertaken at the earliest opportunity.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests (CRIMP) undertook to review the sampling protocols for all ports following their experience over the last three years. The protocol should set the minimum standard for survey methodologies which can be used by all ports and marinas.

The Port Baseline study methodology should be approved by the Australian Ballast Water Management Advisory Committee so that the nationally coordinated approach is formally ratified.

A national management system should be adopted.

The need for closer, formal cooperation and coordination between Australian and New Zealand institutions undertaking research into ballast water, hull fouling and general incursion research was strongly supported by participants at the workshop.

The establishment of a Cooperative Research Centre into Marine Bioinvasions was recommended.

Open ocean ballast water exchange was identified as a viable tool and ought to be encouraged as an option. Development of other control options should have a high priority as some vessels may not be able to undertake ballast water exchange, and a cost/benefit analysis should be considered.

Ship builders and ship owners building new ships should be encouraged to immediately include the best ballast options in ship design and work together with classification societies.

A guide to the DSS ought to be prepared for broader circulation and include a more comprehensive description of the approach that is being taken to evaluate risk.

Risk assessment will develop over time with the further accumulation of information but there will be a higher cost involved in developing the DSS to more sophisticated levels.

Port contingency plans should be developed for situations where contaminated ballast water does enter a port.

Port environment plans must be in place, or developed, for all ports.

Regulations covering ships and recreation vessels should be reviewed so that they are harmonised and that differences between vessels under international law and vessels under domestic law be recognised.

There should be a nationally coordinated approach to hull scrubbing and propeller cleaning of international ships and all international and domestic marine craft not covered by international law.

As far as possible, all regulations and procedures should be written in plain English and include glossaries where appropriate.

The responsibility for communications and support for incursion management procedures should be a coordinated effort including both the regulatory and industry sectors (i.e. governments, ports, the fishing industry, etc.).

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Hilliard, R. W. and Raaymakers, S. 1997, Ballast Water Risk Assessment, 12 Queensland Ports, Stage 5 Report, Executive Summary & Synthesis of Stages 1–4, EcoPorts Monograph Series No 14, Ports Corporation of Queensland, Brisbane.

Hillman, S. P. (ed.) 1999, The Ballast Water Problem—Where to from here? Proceedings of a workshop held 5–6 May 1999, Brisbane, Australia, Ecoports Monograph Series No 19, Ports Corporation of Queensland, Brisbane.

Pyne, R. 1999, The Black Striped Mussel (Mytilopsis sallei) infestation in Darwin: A clean-up strategy, in The Ballast Water Problem—Where to from here? Proceedings of a workshop held 5–6 May 1999, Brisbane, Australia, ed. S. P. Hillman, Ecoports Monograph Series No 19, Ports Corporation of Queensland, Brisbane.

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