Canada Great Lakes ballast water trial

The study by Fisheries and Oceans Canada will conduct onboard testing of ballast water between July and October this year to ensure vessels are compliant and there is an accurate and reliable portable ballast water testing capability in place.

“Chelsea is working with regulators and port state authorities to develop an international standard for ballast water sampling and analysis, based on a proven methodology for representative sampling and analysis of ballast water,” said Dr Brian Phillips, managing director of CTG.

“Confidence in the accuracy of ballast water treatment systems is essential to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.”

Rapid assessment

The trials are being managed by the Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Science and will assess portable ballast water monitoring technology in aiding compliance with the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC).

CTG’s FastBallast compliance monitor uses a statistical method to generate an estimate of cell density that is independent of an assumed level of fluorescence per cell, in order to achieve an accurate reading.

It conducts sampling based on the Poisson distribution theory which allows for a fast analysis of the ballast water sample and will be verified by the Great Lakes Laboratory using the same methodology.

The compliance monitor is also currently being used by Saudi Aramco’s in-house marine biology experts to conduct its ballast water spot checks.