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Explicit inclusion of ballast water treatment information in global databases might also play an
important role in encouraging compliance. Other compliance information on the Equasis
website, for example, can be searched not only by ship, but also by fleet manager or operator,
which helps the insurer evaluate both the quality of the operator and of the ship.
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Alternative Verification Approaches
King and Tamburri (2009) outline three basic alternatives for validating that ballast water meets
discharge standards: reporting, monitoring, and measurement. These alternatives have different
costs and will result in different levels of confidence that discharge violations are being detected.
Their preliminary analysis of alternative verification approaches suggests that verification based
on mandatory
reporting and/or inspection
alone will not achieve acceptable levels of confidence
that regulations are meeting their goals. Verification based on direct measurements (sampling of
ballast water) requires sampling a high enough volume of water to provide an acceptable level of
confidence; but it appears that for this option to provide acceptable levels of confidence the
amount of ballast water sampling will be prohibitively costly. Verification based on indirect
monitoring using sensors appears to be the best alternative, because it has the potential to provide
a high level of confidence at a far lower cost than even the lowest-cost, least-reliable biological
sampling strategies. The key to this option, of course, is the development of accurate, reliable
sensors that can meet enforcement goals and pass, what the USCG is calling a “practicability”
test.
Ultimately, the success of any monitoring, reporting, and verification regime will depend on
whether detected violations result in penalties and sanctions that are certain and meaningful, and
how these sanctions are shared by ship operators, ship owners, equipment vendors, insurance
companies and clubs, and other factors.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The global market for ballast water treatment technologies is at a critical juncture. If Panama
ratifies the International Maritime Organization regulations, sufficient other countries are likely
to follow suit so that the “Phase One” treatment standards will enter into force between now and
2016. The United States of course is a critical player in this regard and with the comment period
for the U.S. Coast Guard proposed rulemaking having passed on December 4, 2009, the United
States moves one step closer to implementing its own regulations that largely mirror the IMO
standards.
Potential suppliers are positioning themselves to meet the high level of global demand for BWTS
that is expected to begin once IMO regulations are ratified and it becomes clear that they will be
implemented and enforced on schedule by IMO member nations. We estimate that more than
68,000 ships will be subject to the IMO regulations between now and 2016. Many of these ships
are relatively small fishing vessels that are not likely to be in a financial position to adopt the
technologies that have been approved by IMO or that are close to receiving approval. This
suggests that other technologies will be developed to meet this segment of the market. On the
other hand, many larger merchant ships will need to install more than one BWTS in order to treat