Minimizing the Hydraulic Impacts of Ballast Water Treatment System Installations Available to Purchase

With the implementation phase of the 2004 International Convention for the Control of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments commencing in September, 2019, the need to install ballast water management systems onboard existing vessels has become a critical issue for the marine industry. As ballast water management systems are incorporated onto vessels, these systems will adversely impact ships' ballast water systems. This study of the hydraulic impacts associated with introducing both a fine mesh mechanical separation phase and a disinfection stage as part of a ballast water treatment system to an existing vessel can provide input to the design phase of an installation. By accounting for these impacts during the design phase of the retrofit project, it is possible to mitigate them to reduce any potential impacts that the installation will have both on the ballast operations of the vessel as well as the long-term performance of the newly installed equipment. This paper is based both on the extensive experience of more than 400 vessel installations as well as theoretical design calculations to provide direct guidance to naval architects, designers, operators, and other equipment manufacturers.