UN agencies, corporations to fight alien species in ships’ ballast tanks

The threats of marine bio-invasions, caused by the transfer of alien plants and animals in ships’ ballast tanks, will be fought by United Nations agencies partnered with shipping corporations, the UN International Maritime Agency (IMO) said today.

According to IMO’s findings, an estimated 10 billion tonnes of ballast water are being carried around the globe each year, and more than 3,000 species of plants and animals are being transferred daily.

As a result, a serious environmental threat has developed, caused by the introduction of alien aquatic plants and animals to new ecosystems, which may not be able to deal with the imported species.

In many areas of the world, the effects have been devastating, since, once these invasive species are established, they are extremely difficult to eradicate, IMO said.

In one example, the introduction of the comb jelly (mnemiopsis leidyi) to the Black and Azov Seas caused a near extinction of anchovy and sprat fisheries and the introduction of the zebra mussel (dreissena polymorpha) in the Great Lakes required multibillion dollar controls and the cleaning of underwater structures and pipelines.

The Global Industry Alliance (GIA), launched today at IMO’s headquarters in London to tackle this global environmental problem, is an innovative partnership between IMO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and four major private shipping corporations.

The international community has developed a regulatory framework for ballast water management, culminating in the adoption by IMO Member States, in 2004, of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments.

The Alliance will assist the development of cost-effective ballast water treatment technologies that can be fitted onboard ships, and will help design new ship design options such as 'flow thru' ballast tanks and ballast-free ships.

It also aims to promote the dissemination of technology within the industry by creating ballast-water information mechanisms and developing training tools targeted at the maritime industry.