28 August 2017
“(…) New Zealand is evaluating new technologies (Note from WOC: and new regulations) to help in the battle against invasive species. A new technology with the ability to revolutionize the detection of invasive marine pests is now being trialed at 14 laboratories around the world.
In New Zealand, fouling was found to be responsible for about 70 percent of aquatic invasive species, compared to just three percent from ballast water.
In response, new regulations, effective from May next year will require all international vessels to have a clean hull.
New Zealand is not alone in its concern.
Like ballast water, biofouling is considered one of the main vectors for bioinvasions. At a presentation at the World Ocean Council’s Sustainable Ocean Summit late last year, IMO technical officer Dr Theofanis Karayannis suggested that hull biofouling could be just as serious a problem for the spread of invasive aquatic species as ballast water.
The IMO is also moving its attention to hull biofouling with a new global project, the GloFouling Partnership. The Partnership is a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the IMO, and it has been given the go-ahead and allocated $6.9 million.
The project will focus on the implementation of the IMO Guidelines for the control and management of ships’ biofouling. The Guidelines (resolution MEPC.207(62)) are intended to provide a globally consistent approach to the management of biofouling. They were adopted by the Marine Environment Protection Committee in July 2011.”
More on that topic on the original article, on the Maritime Executive.