Subscribe to our Mailing Lists (It's free!)
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
SAFETY4SEA
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    2024 IMO Bravery Awards honor tanker and tugboat crews for heroic acts

    Officer to receive IMO bravery award for saving 12 crew members

    Panama

    BMA: Sanctions imposed against Russia

    Work,Safety,Concept.,Wooden,Cube,Blocks,With,Icon,Of,Safety

    DNV: Key IMO safety developments

    seafarers

    Philippines DMW issues call to protect seafarers from warlike areas

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    friendship

    Exploring the human need for friendship: A lifeline at sea and on shore

    neck pain

    Neck pain: A growing health concern for maritime workers

    Book Review: Building leaders the MMMA way

    Book Review: Feel grounded and think positive in 10 simple steps

    time

    Stay SEAFiT: Time is non-renewable – invest it wisely

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    ammonia bunkering vessel

    Company orders ammonia bunkering vessel for use in Singapore

    WSC

    WSC proposes alignment of EU ETS with IMO Net Zero Framework

    IMO Council World Maritime Day

    IMO: World Maritime Day two-year theme to take policy to practice

    BIMCO FuelEU Maritime Regulation

    EU issues low-carbon hydrogen fuel standards

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    vr training

    Companies team up for virtual reality training to better prepare crew

    digital tools onboard

    Company signs for AI autonomous navigation system for PCTC fleet

    Trafigura, ZeroNorth join forces to advance decarbonization solutions

    Trafigura, ZeroNorth join forces to advance decarbonization solutions

    floating data centres

    New partnership to develop floating data center on retrofitted vessel

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    AMSA fine

    NorthStandard: Tips to avoid pollution fines in Turkey

    OCIMF

    OCIMF Annual Report 2025: SIRE 2.0 a welcome change for the industry

    USCG

    ABS PSC Report Q1 2025: 526 total vessels detained

    paris mou lists

    Paris MoU 2024 Performance lists

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    China

    China lays out vision for smarter and greener shipping

    Sanctions Russia

    EU plans to impose new Russian oil price cap

    EU US

    US plans to hit EU and Mexico with 30% tariff starting August

    Dr. Rosalie Balkin

    Dr. Rosalie Balkin to receive IMO International Maritime Prize

  • Columns
    Career Paths: Syb ten Cate Hoedemaker, Maritime Battery Forum

    Career Paths: Syb ten Cate Hoedemaker, Maritime Battery Forum

    GSR Services: The Hong Kong Convention sets the rules for total ship lifecycle responsibility

    NorthStandard: Data sharing to drive technology and improve crew wellbeing

    GSR Services: The Hong Kong Convention sets the rules for total ship lifecycle responsibility

    GSR Services: The Hong Kong Convention sets the rules for total ship lifecycle responsibility

    Trending Tags

    • Anchor Your Health
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    2024 IMO Bravery Awards honor tanker and tugboat crews for heroic acts

    Officer to receive IMO bravery award for saving 12 crew members

    Panama

    BMA: Sanctions imposed against Russia

    Work,Safety,Concept.,Wooden,Cube,Blocks,With,Icon,Of,Safety

    DNV: Key IMO safety developments

    seafarers

    Philippines DMW issues call to protect seafarers from warlike areas

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    friendship

    Exploring the human need for friendship: A lifeline at sea and on shore

    neck pain

    Neck pain: A growing health concern for maritime workers

    Book Review: Building leaders the MMMA way

    Book Review: Feel grounded and think positive in 10 simple steps

    time

    Stay SEAFiT: Time is non-renewable – invest it wisely

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    ammonia bunkering vessel

    Company orders ammonia bunkering vessel for use in Singapore

    WSC

    WSC proposes alignment of EU ETS with IMO Net Zero Framework

    IMO Council World Maritime Day

    IMO: World Maritime Day two-year theme to take policy to practice

    BIMCO FuelEU Maritime Regulation

    EU issues low-carbon hydrogen fuel standards

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    vr training

    Companies team up for virtual reality training to better prepare crew

    digital tools onboard

    Company signs for AI autonomous navigation system for PCTC fleet

    Trafigura, ZeroNorth join forces to advance decarbonization solutions

    Trafigura, ZeroNorth join forces to advance decarbonization solutions

    floating data centres

    New partnership to develop floating data center on retrofitted vessel

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    AMSA fine

    NorthStandard: Tips to avoid pollution fines in Turkey

    OCIMF

    OCIMF Annual Report 2025: SIRE 2.0 a welcome change for the industry

    USCG

    ABS PSC Report Q1 2025: 526 total vessels detained

    paris mou lists

    Paris MoU 2024 Performance lists

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    China

    China lays out vision for smarter and greener shipping

    Sanctions Russia

    EU plans to impose new Russian oil price cap

    EU US

    US plans to hit EU and Mexico with 30% tariff starting August

    Dr. Rosalie Balkin

    Dr. Rosalie Balkin to receive IMO International Maritime Prize

  • Columns
    Career Paths: Syb ten Cate Hoedemaker, Maritime Battery Forum

    Career Paths: Syb ten Cate Hoedemaker, Maritime Battery Forum

    GSR Services: The Hong Kong Convention sets the rules for total ship lifecycle responsibility

    NorthStandard: Data sharing to drive technology and improve crew wellbeing

    GSR Services: The Hong Kong Convention sets the rules for total ship lifecycle responsibility

    GSR Services: The Hong Kong Convention sets the rules for total ship lifecycle responsibility

    Trending Tags

    • Anchor Your Health
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
SAFETY4SEA

The risk of marine bio invasion caused by global shipping

by The Editorial Team
May 10, 2013
in Pollution
The risk of marine bio invasion caused by global shipping
FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedin

Researchers calculate the global highways of invasive marine species

Globalisation, with its ever increasing demand for cargo transport, has inadvertently opened the flood gates for a new, silent invasion. New research has mapped the most detailed forecast to date for importing potentially harmful invasive species with the ballast water of cargo ships.

Scientists from the Universities of Bristol, UK, and Oldenburg, Germany, have examined ship traffic data and biological records to assess the risk of future invasions. Their research is published in the latest issue of Ecology Letters.

Animals and plants can hitch a ride on cargo ships, hiding as stowaways in the ballast tanks or clinging to the ship’s hull. Upon arrival in a new port, alien species can then wreak havoc in formerly pristine waters. These so-called invasive species can drive native species to extinction, modify whole ecosystems and impact human economy.

RelatedNews

Norway drafts regulation to prevent invasive marine species

Danish Shipping adopts policy on Biofouling Management

Some regions, such as the San Francisco Bay or Chesapeake Bay, have even reported several new exotic species per year. The knock-on effects to fishermen, farmers, tourism and industry create billions of US dollars in damage every year. Conservationists and ship engineers are now trying to prevent the next big invasion. But without knowing when and where it may occur, their possibilities remain limited.

As part of the research project, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, the team obtained detailed logs of nearly three million ship voyages in 2007 and 2008. Depending on the particular route travelled by each ship, the researchers estimated the probability that a species survives the journey and establishes a population in subsequent ports of call. Although this probability is tiny for any single voyage, the numbers quickly add up because modern cargo traffic volumes are enormous.

Professor Bernd Blasius from the University of Oldenburg and one of the researchers involved in the study, said: “Our model combines information such as shipping routes, ship sizes, temperatures and biogeography to come up with local forecasts of invasion probabilities.”

The final tally reveals the hotspots of bioinvasion. Large Asian ports such as Singapore and Hong Kong but also US ports like New York and Long Beach are among the sites of highest invasion probability. These waterways are notoriously busy, but, traffic is not the only important factor.

The North Sea, for example, does not rank among the top endangered regions despite intense shipping. Temperatures here are lower, making it more difficult for alien species to survive. However, arrivals from the other side of the Atlantic pose a serious threat to the North Sea. Most invaders are predicted to originate from the North American east coast.

Hanno Seebens from the University of Oldenburg said: “We also compared our model results to field data. And, indeed, most of the alien species actually do originate from there.”

As severe as the risk of future invasions may be, the study also contains a hopeful message. If ship engineers could prevent at least some potential invaders from getting on board, the total invasion risk could be substantially mitigated.

By successfully removing a species from 25 per cent of the ballast tanks arriving at each port (eg with filters, chemicals or radiation), the overall invasion probability decreases by 56 per cent. The reduction is so disproportionately large because the effect of ballast water treatment multiplies at successive stopovers.

Bioinvasion is, as the researchers admit, a complex process, and records of past invasions are far from comprehensive. Facing these uncertainties, they simulated various different scenarios. Interestingly, the key results are comparable for different models, predicting the same hotspots and global highways of bioinvasion. The traffic on the main shipping routes plays the greatest role for the calculation.

Dr Michael Gastner, Lecturer in Engineering Mathematics at the University of Bristol, added: “Ship movements in the past few years are well documented, but there are many unknowns about future trade routes.”

For example, the future of the world economy remains uncertain, and Arctic passages may become navigable as a consequence of global warming. Future simulations will also have to take into account which engineering solutions for ballast water treatment will eventually be adopted by port authorities.

Paper: The risk of marine bioinvasion caused by global shipping, Hanno Seebens, Michael T. Gastner, Bernd Blasius, Ecology Letters, published online 24 April 2013.

Source: University of Bristol

The risk of marine bio invasion caused by global shippingThe risk of marine bio invasion caused by global shipping
The risk of marine bio invasion caused by global shippingThe risk of marine bio invasion caused by global shipping
Tags: invasive species
Previous Post

RINA and Drydocks World team up

Next Post

IMO’s new initiative to reduce administrative burdens

SUGGESTED FOR YOU

australian shipping
Pollution

Biofouling in Australia: 3 options for compliance

February 14, 2024
Almost half a billion dollars were lost in a single year due to invasive species
Ballast

Almost half a billion dollars were lost in a single year due to invasive species

September 5, 2023
biofouling
Green Shipping

IMO: Draft revised Biofouling Guidelines approved in PPR10

May 4, 2023
barnacle fouling
Green Shipping

Do you know what biofouling is?

July 11, 2022
barnacle fouling
Green Shipping

Watch: Why biofouling is important for the aquatic environment

March 1, 2022
australia
Green Shipping

Australia: Entering vessels must carry compliant Biofouling Management Plan and Record Book from June 15

January 14, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Explore more

No Result
View All Result
MARITIME EVENTS

Explore

  • Safety
  • SEAFiT
  • Green
  • Smart
  • Risk
  • Others
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

Useful Links

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Policies
  • Advertising
  • Content Marketing
  • Contact

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA

No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • SEAFiT
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Anchor Your Health
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Opinions
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Tip of the day
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA

Manage your privacy
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show (non-) personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • SEAFiT
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Anchor Your Health
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Opinions
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Tip of the day
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA