Ballast Free Ship Design

ABSTRACT

Ballast , a material with some basic properties is among those boons to mankind that has made
seafaring an everyday affair . With seafaring, seemingly possible modern day commercial
shipping has transformed the dynamics of world trade .

However , the concept of ballast is not new , as its roots date back to the 16th and 18th century
where quarry stones/sand bags where used as ballast to maintain the stability of ships sailing
between europe and north america .

The modern day ballast in commercial ships are a complex system of ballast tanks and ballast
water treatment and pumping systems . A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or
other floating structure that holds water, which is used as ballast to provide stability propulsion
and manoeuvrability to a vessel . While the pumping system is used to pump water in and out of
these tanks as per load conditions or as to lower or increase the draft of vessel in shallow or
deep waters respectively .
Ballast water is currently vital for safe and efficient shipping operations, however taking up and
discharging ballast water can lead to ecological and economic consequences.

Just like any invention the downside of ballast systems on board vessels is that they have
rapidly contributed to the spread of I.A.S (Invasive Aquatic Species) . IAS are microbial
invertebrates that get loaded onto ballast tanks , when these tanks are pumped with water in
one location and get discharged in another location when the tanks are emptied .
These microbes rapidly spread at the target location and damage the local marine system
affecting corals and fishing population there .

Thus in order to overcome this problem extensive research by University of Michigan had led to
the introduction of ballast free design for ships . This concept uses change in buoyancy to act as
natural ballast and get vessels in safe ballast drafts . Traditional ballast tanks are replaced by
longitudinal, structural ballast trunks that extend beneath the cargo region of the ship below the
ballast draft.

These trunks are flooded with seawater in order to reduce the buoyancy of the vessel while in
ballast condition, thus getting the vessel down to its ballast drafts. What is more, due to the
natural hydrodynamic pressure differential between the bow region and the stern region of a
ship while it moves through the water, a slow flow is introduced in these open ballast trunks.
As a result, the ballast trunks are always filled with slowly moving “local seawater”, limiting the
transport of non-indigenous aquatic species across the globe.
ballast free design could eliminate costly ballast water treatment equipment or ballast water
treatment chemicals.

A ballast free ship could have an extended service life, as it will not have to deal with the
corrosion that sediment build-up is causing in ballast tanks. This is very important, as it could
limit inspection and cleaning times.
Finally, such a ship could have better course-keeping capabilities, as the absence of heavy
ballast tanks would decrease slamming impacts in heavy weather.

This aids the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water
and Sediments (BWM Convention) which entered into force on 8 September 2017, marking a
landmark step towards halting the spread of invasive aquatic species, which can cause havoc
for local ecosystems, affect biodiversity and lead to substantial economic loss. Under the
Convention’s terms, ships will be required to manage their ballast water to remove, render
harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast
water and sediments