Ship ballast water (ballast water) refers to the water and suspended matter added to a ship for the purpose of controlling the ship's roll, trim, draft, stability or stress.
The function of ballast water is to maintain a certain depth of draft when the ship is unloaded and will not capsize;In the state of the ship's cargo, ballast water can also be used to ballast and adjust between the ballast tanks to determine a certain draft difference or flat draft (the draft difference between the front and rear is 0) to ensure the smooth and safe navigation of the ship in specific watersThe icebreaker uses a high-power pump to quickly adjust the ballast water at both ends of the bow and stern, and then makes the bow and tail ends move high and low, cut off the ice on the sea surface, and carry out icebreaking operations, which is also the working principle of the icebreaker. List of high-quality authors
With the development of the world's leading and economic globalization, the tonnage and speed of ships continue to increase, and the acceleration of ship speed shortens the sailing time of ships, thereby increasing the possibility of survival and transfer of alien harmful aquatic organisms in the ballast water of ships.
According to statistics, about 500 biological species have been identified in the approximately 10 billion tonnes of ballast water that is transshipped worldwide every year. Once these organisms invade new suitable living areas, they can uncontrollably breed wildly, plunder native organisms for food, and cause harmful parasites and pathogens to spread rapidly over a large area, seriously damaging the local marine ecological balance.
Ship ballast water is one of the four major threats to the ocean. Historically, the Great Lakes region of the United States and the coastal waters of Australia have caused ecological crises due to ballast water discharge.
There are three types of ballast water treatment methods: chemical treatment, physical removal and traditional purification.
On August 24, 2023, Japan** forcibly started the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.
The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water will first affect China, Japan, South Korea, Canada-West America routes, South American routes, and even Australia-New Zealand routes, and almost half of the world's shipping will be threatened.
In the face of Japan's forced push for the discharge of Fukushima nuclear sewage into the sea, China has taken a series of countermeasures. Among them, China announced a complete ban on the import of aquatic products originating in Japan, and submitted a notice of emergency measures to the WTO. Monitoring ballast water from Japanese cargo ships to prevent nuclear sewage from entering Chinese waters through "smuggling".
In order to protect its own marine environment, South Korea's port authorities have announced a strict new regulation. Under this regulation, all vessels from Japan must undergo ballast water replacement and inspection on the high seas before entering South Korea to ensure that their discharge meets the conforming standards. If the discharge is found to be exceeded, it will be banned from entering South Korea's territorial waters.
On 5 September, the Russian State Duma passed a bill with a high vote to set up an "emergency handling department" for Japanese ships from now on. The department's duty is to require all Japanese ships to Russia to undergo inspections on the high seas before entering Russian waters, including ballast water replacement, domestic water sampling testing, and radiation testing and disinfection of the entire ship. Japanese ships that do not meet the inspection standards are not allowed to enter Russian waters.