We characterized the physical/chemical conditions and the algal and bacterial assemblages in ballast water from 62 ballast tanks aboard 28 ships operated by the U.S. Military Sealift Command and the Maritime Administration, sampled at 9 ports on the U.S. West Coast and 4 ports on the U.S. East Coast. The ballast tank waters had been held for 2–176 days, and 90% of the tanks had undergone ballas...

The results of the ship ballast water treatment systems neutralization need to be verified in a transparent and trustful way before the ship enters a port. Some researches and results, explained in this article, confirm a need for a good verification. If there is no good methodology agreed, then it would not be accepted the solution that the BWMC (Ballast Water Management Convention) 2004 did p...

The discharge of nutrients, phytoplankton and pathogenic bacteria through ballast water may threaten the Cayo Arcas reef system. To assess this threat, the quality of ballast water and presence of coral reef pathogenic bacteria in 30 oil tankers loaded at the PEMEX Cayo Arcas crude oil terminal were determined. The water transported in the ships originated from coastal, oceanic or riverine regi...

The impact of NaOH as a ballast water treatment (BWT) on microbial community diversity was assessed using the 16S rRNA gene based Ion Torrent sequencing with its new 400 base chemistry. Ballast water samples from a Great Lakes ship were collected from the intake and discharge of both control and NaOH (pH 12) treated tanks and were analyzed in duplicates. One set of duplicates was treated with t...

Studies of marine viromes (viral metagenomes) have revealed that DNA viruses are highly diverse and exhibit biogeographic patterns. However, little is known about the diversity of RNA viruses, which are mostly composed of eukaryotic viruses, and their biogeographic patterns in the oceans. A growth in global commerce and maritime traffic may accelerate spread of diverse and non-cosmopolitan DNA ...

Abstract Ballast fouling in railroad substructure is detrimental to railroad track effectiveness and its structural capacity. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) provides a rapid, effective and continuous approach to assess railroad substructure condition. However, unknown ballast dielectric constant and unclear interface between clean and fouled ballast limit the GPR assessment accuracy. In this st...

Worldwide transfer and introduction of non-indigenous species in ballast water causes significant environmental and economic impact. One way to address this problem is to remove or inactivate organisms that are found in ballast water. In this study, 3 experiments were conducted in Puget Sound, Washington, USA, using a prototype ozone treatment system installed on a commercial oil tanker, the S/...

There are high functioning and low functioning ballast water treatment systems on board ships. In this study, five systems were analysed so as to methodically examine the operational difficulties for ship crew members while giving important consideration to sustainable environment practices. Multi-criteria analysis, a questionnaire, survey and interviews were used as the research method so as t...

Methods for verifying ballast water treatments in foreign vessels are needed to protect the Great Lakes from the discharge of live non-native organisms or pathogens. A prototype automated viability test system using fluorescein diacetate (FDA), a membrane permeable fluorogen, to differentiate live from dead bacteria and algae is described. The automated fluorescence intensity detection device (...

Transoceanic shipping is the dominant vector for exotic species introductions in the North American Great Lakes. Over 60% of the invaders discovered since the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 are attributable to ballast water release (Ricciardi, 2006). Ocean-going vessels have been required since 1993 to exchange their filled ballast tanks at sea to reduce the abundance and viability ...