By
Rebecca Gibson |
Members of the Canadian Shipowners Association (CSA) have partnered with the Great Ships Initiative (GSI) project to test ballast water filtration systems in the waters of the Great Lakes and St Lawrence Waterway (GLSLW) this summer.
GSI, a government-funded research centre, will conduct efficacy tests at its Wisconsin-based ballast treatment testing facility in an effort to help CSA members find practical solutions to ballast water management.
Although no new organisms have been detected in the GLSLW from beyond Canadian territorial waters following the 2006 Canadian-US requirement for mid-ocean ballast water exchange, no technology has been type-approved for operation.
“Our membership has a track record of leading the use of innovative technologies and best management practices to improve performance, safety and to protect the environment,” said Robert Lewis-Manning, president of CSA. “The partnership with GSI is important because it builds on our industry’s leadership and demonstrates the commitment of the CSA’s members to find solutions that are practical, can work in our unique operating environment and will achieve results in a cost effective manner.”
Results from the trial of filtration technologies are expected by the end of August 2013.