engleski

Ballast Water Discharge Profile of a Port as a Tool for Ballast Water Risk Management – A Case Study of Port of Ploče, Croatia

Water that was taken onboard a ship as a ballast contains numerous aquatic organisms. Marine organisms found in ballast can pose a severe problem to the local environment and the local population’s health. However, not all of these aquatic organisms will survive in the ship’s ballast tank due to a lack of food and light. Thus, ballast water is recognised as one of the major vectors of potentially invasive alien species. To efficiently manage ballast water discharges in ports, it is necessary to determine its ballast water discharge profile and, based on obtained data, set parameters for risk mitigation and reduction. Therefore, discharged ballast water data for the port of Ploče (Croatia) was collected and analysed. It was found that most of the ballast water discharged in Ploče originates from the Mediterranean Sea, or more precisely, the Adriatic Sea. Furthermore, the most considerable amount of discharged ballast water was taken from Italian ports on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, and ports of Ravenna and Brindisi were the sources of the most considerable quantities of ballast water discharged. Additionally, visiting ships discharging ballast were analysed according to the flag they are flying, and it was found that ships sailing under Panama and Malta flags were the most frequent visitors discharging ballast water in Ploče. Based on the findings, proposals for efficient ballast water management measures were given.

ballast water ; shipping ; HAOP ; port ; Adriatic Sea

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