Oceanchest - Beyond the Horizon: Investigation and development of an innovative technological approach to the treatment of ballast water in response to a global environmental issue.

海上运输占国际运输所有产品的90%以上（IMO 2008），2011年航运业占英国进口的95%（运输部）。每年全球转移200 - 300万公吨压载水（Steichen等人，2012）。压载舱内的水可能含有外来物种，这些物种一旦排放并在新环境中定居，可能会破坏海洋生态系统的平衡（经合组织，2011年）。据估计，压载水舱中可以运输多达10000种生物（Carlton，1999），在任何时候都有100亿吨压载水在地球仪上运输。因此，国际海事组织（IMO）实施了《国际船舶压载水和沉积物控制和管理公约》。由于这项立法即将出台，要求所有船舶管理压载水的排放，英国港口和航运公司将被要求调整现有的船队（也许是港口），以提供足够的处理设施，并遵守法律。美国海岸警卫队（USCG）已经引入了一项单独的政策，该政策继承了IMO的特殊要求。Oceanchest将研究一种技术的创新应用，以处理压载水，并满足最广泛采用的两项立法中最严格的要求，旨在减少压载水外来物种入侵对全球经济，环境和社会的影响。这将通过与利物浦约翰摩尔大学合作开发的各种实验来实现

Maritime traffic corresponds to over 90% of all products transported internationally (IMO2008) and the shipping industry was responsible for 95% of UK imports in 2011 (Departmentfor Transport).2-3 million metric tonnes of ballast water are transferred globally each year(Steichen et al, 2012). The water inside ballast tanks may contain alien species which, oncedischarged and established into the new environment, may disrupt the balance of the marineecosystem (OECD, 2011). It is estimated up to 10000 species can be transported in ballasttanks (Carlton, 1999), with 10 billion tonnes of ballast water transported at any momentacross the globe.As a result, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has implemented the InternationalConvention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediment. Due tothe imminent introduction of this legislation, which requires all ships to manage the dischargeof ballast water, UK ports and shipping companies will be required to adapt existing fleets(and perhaps ports) in order to provide adequate treatment facilities and comply with thelegislation. the United States Coast Guard (USCG) have introduced a separate policy whichsucceeds that of the IMO in the specificity of its requirements.Oceanchest will investigate the innovative application of a technology to treat ballast waterand meet the strictest of the 2 most widely adopted legislation, with the aim of reducing theglobal economic, environmental and social impact of alien species invasion from ballastwater. This will be achieved through a variety of experiments developed with Liverpool JohnMoores University