South Korean shipping, shipbuilding and maritime equipment industry hope the new and highly-costly international regulation on cargo ship’s ballast water could provide the much-awaited breakthrough in depressed demand through the sea change in the way ships are designed and run to minimize ecological and economic damages from wastewater discharged by carriers in international traffic.

The Ballast Water Management Convention adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2004 drew up stringent guidelines to prevent, reduce, and eliminate the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens through ships’ ballast water and sediments. Signatory governments are responsible for enforcing the convention on ships registered under the flags as well as those entering their waters. The convention would take effect if more than 30 states accounting for at least 35 percent of world merchant tonnage (capacity) sign it. To date, 51 countries including Korea signed it, 34.87 percent of global tonnage. The ratification threshold will soon be met as the government of Finland with a 0.14 percent capacity decided to join convention earlier this month.

There are over 68,000 ships involved in cargo trade, and they must be fitted with ballast water treatment systems under the IMO convention in order to enter ports and discharge waters. The market created from the new compliance is estimated from $50 billion to $70 billion.

Korea is ahead in the technology. According to the local Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea secured 1.4 trillion won ($1.23 billion) worth orders in ballast water treatment systems to be refitted in 2,569 vessels from 2010 to 2014, taking up 55 percent of global demand.

Hanla IMS Co. provides a case in point. It won an order from Norweian Viken Shipping AS, to install treatment, level-gauging, valve systems for ballast water management for its two vessels. Although their technology is advanced, ballast water treatment equipment manufacturers in Korea are relatively small-scaled and could find it difficult to compete with bigger foreign rivals.

Experts advise that the local shipbuilding industry could gain competitiveness if it can provide both technology and solution in ballast water management and maintenance.

By Park Yong-beom

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