MRC

According to the environmental group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the shipping industry should do more to kill stowaway alien species, from jellyfish to algae, that can wreck ecosystems when flushed from ships' ballast tanks. Ballast water, carried by ships to provide balance and stability, is loaded with thousands of marine species that can invade new environments when released in ports. Alien species are often more damaging than oil spills. WWF said that UN International Marine Organization conference should agree on mandatory treatment of the estimated 10 billion tons of ballast water carried round the world every year to kill off hitch-hiking marine life. It said current guidelines for sucking up water from ports and dumping it at destinations, sometimes on the other side of the globe, afforded little protection to the environment. North American Jellyfish in the Black Sea and Asian kelp in Australia have been disastrous for fisheries in their new homes. Invasive species are perhaps the major environmental challenge facing the shipping industry.

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