Republic of Korea secures a foothold in the 80 trillion won ballast water-treatment market

ㅇ Republic of Korea has secured a foothold in the ballast water treatment market, which is worth 80 trillion won. Ballast water is fresh or salt water held in specially constructed tanks in the holds of ships for the purpose of increasing stability. However, a problem occurs when ships exchange their ballast water at different locations as that can spread harmful aquatic organisms to other marine environments. Accordingly, on February 13, 2004, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted “The Ballast Water Management Convention” to prevent such marine ecosystem disturbances. Since then, the importance of ballast water treatment technology has rapidly increased.

ㅇ On February 1, the Republic of Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (President, Jung Keuk Kang) held a dedication ceremony for a new government-certified, land-based facility at the KIOST South Sea Research Institute designed for testing biocides against aquatic organisms.

ㅇ The facility will test the ability of ballast water treatment devices to eradicate aquatic organisms and whether toxic substances are created during the process.

ㅇ To date land-based ballast water treatment devices have been only tested at manufacturers’ facilities. However, now that the government has finished the construction of the facility, it can be utilized by of all Republic of Korea’s 14 ballast water treatment companies.

ㅇFurthermore, Republic of Korea’s competitiveness will improve as the trust in its ballast water treatment equipment increases around the world. Through its use of next-generation ballast water treatment technologies, Republic of Korea should be able to gain a good share of the 80 trillion won ballast water treatment market.

ㅇAt the ribbon-cutting ceremony, KIOST signed a trust management contract with the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs and will effectively manage the land-based test facility.

- Also, a KIOST official announced that the institute was scheduled to improve the facility to test and verify the United States’ approval process, which is 1,000 times more stringent than the organism testing standard recommended by the IMO.