Abstract
Commercial vessels are built for the transport of various cargoes or passengers. When a vessel is not fully laden, additional weight is required to provide for the vessel’s seaworthiness, e.g. to compensate for the increased buoyancy which can result in the lack of propeller immersion, inadequate transversal and longitudinal inclination, and other stresses on the vessel’s hull. The material used for adding weight to the vessel is referred to as ballast. Historically, ballast material was solid, but after the introduction of iron as basic vessel building material in the middle of the nineteenth century, loading of water (i.e., ballast water) in cargo holds or tanks had shown to be easier and more efficient. Even when a vessel is fully laden it can require ballast water operations due to a non-equal distribution of weights on the vessel, weather and sea conditions, an approach to shallow waters, and the consumption of fuel during the voyage. As a result of these factors, vessels fundamentally rely on ballast water for safe operations as a function of their design and construction. This chapter describes vessel’s ballast water systems, ballast tank designs, ballasting and deballasting processes as well as safety and legislative aspects of ballast water operations. In addition a detailed ballast water discharge assessment model is provided. Using concepts of this model an estimation of global ballast water discharges from vessels engaged in the international seaborne trade was estimated as 3.1 billion tonnes in 2013.
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Notes
- 1.
i.e., the distance from the water to the highest part of the vessel.
- 2.
i.e., difference between the forward and aft draft, when this exists, means longitudinal list of this vessel; when there is no trim, vessel is on even keel.
- 3.
i.e., 40 ft containers or instead of one 40 ft container can be two 20 ft containers loaded or discharged at the same time.
- 4.
i.e., movements of water in the tank from side to side and hence changing centres of gravity as well having dynamic side effects, and with this negatively impacting the transversal stability of the vessel; this is especially important for cargo holds and wider ballast tanks; e.g., double bottom, topside.
- 5.
i.e., appropriate load line according to the IMO Load Line Convention.
- 6.
European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No. [266445] for the project Vectors of Change in Oceans and Seas Marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors (VECTORS). http://www.marine-vectors.eu/
- 7.
IPA Adriatic Cross-Border Cooperation Programme - strategic project Ballast Water Management System for Adriatic Sea Protection (BALMAS), http://www.balmas.eu/
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Acknowledgements
My grateful thanks to Captain P.G.H. Stapleton, Master Mariner, BSc, from UK; Captain Alok Kumar, Master Mariner, BSc, from India; Chief Officer Kiril Tereščenko, MSc, MBA, from Poland; and Chief Officer Guy Mali, BSc, from the Netherlands; for reviewing this chapter and for very valuable comments. I further like to thank my colleague Stephan Gollasch for his valuable editorial suggestions.
The research leading to part of these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under Grant Agreement No. [266445] for the project Vectors of Change in Oceans and Seas Marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors (VECTORS). Part of this publication has been produced with the financial assistance of the IPA Adriatic Cross-Border Cooperation Programme – strategic project Ballast Water Management System for Adriatic Sea Protection (BALMAS). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of authors and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the IPA Adriatic Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Authorities.
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David, M. (2015). Vessels and Ballast Water. In: David, M., Gollasch, S. (eds) Global Maritime Transport and Ballast Water Management. Invading Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9367-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9367-4_2
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