Establishing Ballast Water Test Platforms in the U.S.

Carolyn Junemann, USDOT Maritime Administration

Why we got involved

Government-owned ships could serve as test platforms in lieu of operating commercial vessels– No disruption to operating engine rooms with unproven technologies

(that may have to be removed at the end of testing)– No interruption to commercial schedule while these systems are

installed– Government in-house engineers and naval architects could provide

support to the project– Technology developers could learn about the requirements and

limitations of installing technology aboard ship without impacting overall operations with unforeseeable problems

The Timeline

Maryland• 2002 - 2004: MARAD berth and ships used to test

systems; 2007 “plug and play” installed on ships• 2008: Partnered with MERC; one technology tested

Port of Superior• 2006: Established Great Ships Initiative facility

Golden Bear• 2005: Feasibility study - GOLDEN BEAR as test platform

Genesis of the facilities – Great Lakes

Shore-Based Test Facility Design

Land-Based Testing Facility

Upgrades in 2010

Genesis of the facilities – Chesapeake Bay

Cape Washington, Baltimore, MDHookup Between Ship and Technology – Bulkhead between Cargo Space and E.R.

Mobile Test Platform - 2011

• Port of Baltimore, 5 – 12 psu

• Port of Norfolk, 21 – 28 psu

• NRL Anacostia River, 0 psu

Training Ship Golden Bear

Plug and Play Installation on Stern

Caveats

• Attaining the approval to conduct USCG-compliant certification testing is not a given. These facilities must demonstrate that they are capable of conducting the tests and have the proper “infrastructure” to support the work.

• Until a Final Rule is issued, we will not know all of the requirements for certification testing.

• Without dedicated professionals conducting the tests and being in the field on a daily basis, the program would not advance.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

0

1

2

3

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Total phosphorus concentration (µg/L)

Rel

ati

ve

ab

un

dan

ce (

%)