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D. M. King and M. N. Tamburri
and deterrence chain—the ability to identify noncompliance. This article presented a pre-
liminary analysis of alternative compliance verification and violation detection approaches
for the new U.S. and international ballast water discharge regulations that results in the
following preliminary conclusions:
1. Verification systems based on mandatory reporting and inspections of BWTS alone
will not achieve acceptable levels of confidence that ballast water regulations are
meeting their goals
2. Verification systems based on direct measurement (ballast water biological sam-
pling) that are not comprehensive in terms of being both intensive (high volumes
of ballast water sampled per vessel) and extensive (many vessels sampled) will not
provide acceptable levels of confidence. Those that are comprehensive enough to
provide acceptable levels of confidence will be prohibitively costly.
3. Verification systems based on indirect monitoring of ballast water using sensors
appear to be the best alternative because they have the potential to provide a high
level of confidence at a cost that is far lower than even the lowest cost and least
reliable biological sampling strategies.
4. The success of a verification system based on sensors will depend on the develop-
ment of accurate, reliable sensors that generate data that are at least as capable of
withstanding technical, statistical, and legal challenges as the results of any direct
ballast water discharge measurement system that can meet the practicability test.
5. Whether any verification system for detecting violations will effectively deter vio-
lations will depend in crucial ways on whether detected violations result in certain
and meaningful penalties and sanctions; how they are shared by ship operators,
shipowners, equipment vendors, insurance groups and clubs; how repeat offenders
are treated; and other factors unrelated to expected detection rates.
6. The fact that onboard ballast water sensors can predict likely violations prior to
ballast water discharge means that they can be used to prevent as well as detect
violations. This is another advantage of using sensors to detect imminent violations
rather than relying on direct testing of ballast water at the time of discharge to
validate violations.
Recommendations
Based on this preliminary assessment of the alternatives that are available to meet the
verification requirements of an enforcement system for implementing national and interna-
tional ballast water regulations, the most promising path forward seems to involve indirect
measures of ballast water characteristics using sensors rather than mandatory reporting,
inspecting BWTS equipment, or direct ballast water sampling and analysis. Similar com-
parisons of other aspects of the enforcement chain need to be undertaken soon to identify
features of an overall compliance program that will allow ballast water regulations to meet
their goals at the lowest possible cost to ship operators and the general public.
Notes
1. See United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,
Review of Maritime Trans-
port 2008
, available at www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID
=
4658&lang
=
1; and Equasis,
“The World Merchant Fleet in 2007,” available at extranet.emsa.europa.eu/index.php?option
=
com.
2. National Research Council,
Stemming the Tide: Controlling Introductions of Nonindigenous
Species by Ship’s Ballast Water
(Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1996).
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