The international conference on ballast water BWM Tech 2017 will be held from 11 to 13 December in London (UK). The International SHIPPING magazine is the media partner of the conference and will take a direct part in its work.
As organizers of the event note, the consequences of untreated ballast water can be very sad. To date, there have been many cases when the invasion of certain marine organisms adversely affected the local ecology and led to serious consequences (pollution of coastal and inland waters of the regions, deterioration of health of people living in these regions, etc.). All cases prove the need for control and monitoring systems for water ballast.
The relevance of the event is given by the entry into force on 8 September 2017 of the International Ballast Water Convention, according to which ships should be equipped with ballast water treatment systems.
According to IMO Secretary General Kitak Lima, this is an important step towards stopping the spread of invasive aquatic species that have catastrophic consequences for local ecosystems, affect biodiversity and lead to significant economic losses.
BWM Tech 2017 will be attended by more than 100 professionals in the field of ballast water issues — IMO, Maritime & Coastguard Agency, international consultants on marine technologies, etc. Within two days the experts will jointly consider and analyze examples of successful installations of treatment systems, develop international «ballast» rules and create strategies for ballast water treatment based on modern technologies.
The results of the conference will be published in the January issue of the SHIPPING magazine.
