Last July, our Innovation Pilots and Marine and Aquatic Biosecurity teams began a ballast water pilot. They compared two ballast water sampling kits, the Satake Ballast Catch and Ballast Eye and the SGSBWMS2.
The goal of the pilot was to assess if existing sampling kits can save money and enable our biosecurity officers to sample and test water in-house.
Each kit was tested in the port of Newcastle on 7 vessels over 4 days during routine vessel inspections. The functionality of the technology, and compliance with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards of sampling both large (50μm) and small (10-50μm) organisms were tested. The overall reliability and accuracy of each kit was also assessed.
Both kits achieved promising results and the department will purchase one of the kits in the coming months for future use in the testing of ballast water.
This pilot marks a significant stride towards enhancing the department’s biosecurity measures. With these advancements, in-house capabilities can lead the way in safeguarding our marine ecosystems in the future.
