MERC set to start construction of a new mobile test platform.
Because MERC is located on the Chesapeake Bay, it offers a unique opportunity to evaluate the performance of ballast water treatment systems under a variety of challenging environmental conditions. Utilizing a mobile testing platform, MERC will have the capability to test systems in different seasons to capture temperature effects on system performance and in different locations within the Bay to capture impacts of varying salinities as required by both International and U.S. guidelines and standards. The Chesapeake also offers waters with naturally abundant, taxonomically diverse, and well-studied planktonic organisms that will allow for the appropriate quantification of system biological efficacy.
MERC Environmental Economist, Dr. Dennis King, publishes "MEPC 62 special: The world can afford sustainable shipping".
MERC Environmental Economist, Dr. Dennis King, publishes an op-ed piece in Sustainable Shipping on "Kick-starting Ballast Water Treatment Markets".
MERC Environmental Economist, Dr. Dennis King, publishes an op-ed piece in Sustainable Shipping on "Gaming" Ballast Water Treatment Markets.
Ship's experiments look for ways to prevent foreign stowaways
Most days, the Cape Washington sits in Baltimore's harbor, looking majestic as the sun hits its gunmetal-gray exterior. Inside, the 700-foot ship resembles a giant parking garage, although the ramps built to withstand the weight of Humvees and tanks are empty. A drill rumbles in the background, and the faint smell of fresh paint wafts from the walls. The Cape Washington........read more here.
MERC featured in PBS 2010 documentary entitled Fragile Waters.
Fragile Waterways travels to neighborhoods in Brooklyn, NY, the Great Lakes, Finger Lakes and Long Island to look at the challenges communities are facing as they clean up, restore and protect their lakes, canals, rivers, and the water they drink.
http://www.thirteen.org/fragile-waterways
MERC releases the third in a series of reports on the performance of ballast water treatment systems.
The Severn Trent De Nora BP-1000 Ballast Water Management System, which utilizes filtration and electrochlorination, was tested onboard the M/V Cape Washington in the fall of 2009. All MERC Test Plans and Final Reports can be found here.
MERC set to start construction of a new mobile test platform.
Because MERC is located on the Chesapeake Bay, it offers a unique opportunity to evaluate the performance of ballast water treatment systems under a variety of challenging environmental conditions. Utilizing a mobile testing platform, MERC will have the capability to test systems in different seasons to capture temperature effects on system performance and in different locations within the Bay to capture impacts of varying salinities as required by both International and U.S. guidelines and standards. The Chesapeake also offers waters with naturally abundant, taxonomically diverse, and well-studied planktonic organisms that will allow for the appropriate quantification of system biological efficacy.
MERC Primary Investigators, Drs. Tamburri and King, publish a paper entitled Verifying Compliance with Ballast Water Discharge Regulations in the journal Ocean Development and International Law.
Abstract
U.S. and international rules have been proposed to reduce risks associated with invasive aquatic organisms by requiring that ship's ballast water be treated to kill or remove living organisms and achieve certain standards before being discharged. Enforcing these rules requires verifying when a discharge violates these standards. A preliminary comparison of verification systems indicates that mandatory reporting and/or inspecting treatment equipment does not provide an acceptable level of confidence, and that sampling and analyzing enough ballast water to achieve acceptable confidence is prohibitively costly. The most cost-effective alternatives that achieve acceptable levels of confidence involve indirect measures of ballast water using sensors that indicate whether discharge standards are met.
MERC is featured again in the January/February 2010 issue of the Maritime Executive, which provides an update on ballast water regulatory issues.
Read in an Adobe PDF format 1.1mb
MERC is assisting Maryland Sea Grant and the Mid-Atlantic Panel on Aquatic Invasive Species on a workshop in Baltimore, MD, entitled Aquatic Invasive Species Mid-Atlantic Workshop Vector Management: A Prevention Solution for more information, please visit: http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/issues/restoration/non-natives/workshop09
Treating Ballast Water Could Fight Invasive Species
Please visit the following link to listen to The full interview;
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106599241
Maritime Environmental Resource Center is featured in the January/February issue of the Maritime Executive.
Read in an Adobe PDF format 1.4mb
Maritime Environmental Resource Center is featured in the January/February issue of the Maritime Executive.
Read in an Adobe PDF format 1.2mb
MERC has selected a suite of technologies for 2009 testing.
Complete Land-Based Testing of MSI Filtration + UV system (March/April 2009)
Laboratory toxicological evaluations of a ballast water algaecide (March/April 2009)
Land-Based Testing of Siemens SiCURE BWMS (May/June 2009)
Land-Based Testing of Severn Trent De Nora BalPure system (August/September 2009)
Shipboard Testing of Severn Trent De Nora BalPure system (Spring through end of 2009)
Evaluations of ballast water specific filter systems (fall 2009 – 2010)
For more information, contact tamburri@cbl.umces.edu
MERC partners with NOAA
A MERC proposal to the 2008 NOAA Ballast Water Management Demonstration Program's RDTE Facility competition received very favorable reviews and was selected for funding. Through the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, MERC has entered into a Cooperative Agreement with NOAA to work with MARAD on converting a barge into a Chesapeake Bay mobile test platform. Initial design for the barge retrofit has been completed, and we plan to bring it online before the end of 2009.
MERC Economic Assessments
Dennis King and his team have initiated economic analyses of alternative ballast water treatment systems, focusing on the cost of installing and using alternative treatment systems aboard various types and sizes of ships operating along major trade routes. MERC is looking at the full range of equipment acquisition and installation costs as well as expected increases in ship operating costs associated with energy and manpower usage, maintenance and servicing, and so on. Our preliminary assessments of the full costs of using various ballast water treatment systems aboard most types/sizes of ships will be complete in the fall of 2009.
MERC Partners with ABS
The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has contracted MERC to help review, consolidate, and develop an online, searchable matrix of ship discharge regulations for the marine industry. The primary objective of this resource is to disseminate up-to-date environmental regulations to marine vessel operators, owners, and crews. The online matrix will provide end users with the ability to investigate a range of environmental compliance issues that are globally, regionally, and port specific. Some of the many benefits of making this information easily accessible and accurate include the prevention of unnecessary environmental degradation, regulation infractions, and insurance premiums. The initial database should be available to the public before the end of 2008. Please visit ABS (www.eagle.org) and MERC (www.maritime-enviro.org) over the next few months for more information.
Congressman Cumming officially launches the Maritime Environmental Resource Center (MERC)
Congressman Cummings (D-Md.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, joined the U.S. Maritime Administration, the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Maryland Port Administration, and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science to announce the kick-off of the Maritime Environmental Resource Center.
Full press release in a PDF format;
