MOL Readies 'Ballast Catch'

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL)  announced that the "Ballast Catch" = Viable Organism Sampler will begin marketing on May 15.

The device, jointly developed by MOL Group company MOL Engineering and Satake Corporation, saves workload in preparing samples of ballast water prior to testing for the presence of marine organisms. Another MOL Group company, MOL Techno-Trade will handle sales of "Ballast Catch".

Satake  developed the "Ballast Eye" =Viable Organism Analyzer, inspection system to determine how many living organisms are contained in a vessel's ballast water, in response to stricter regulations set out in "International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments,2004" and MOL Techno-Trade has sold it since 2016.

The newly released "Ballast Catch" reduces the amount of work required to concentrate sample water for inspection with "Ballast Eye".

Previously, more than two specialists had to manually concentrate the sample water using a sampling net. It is also compact, lightweight, and requires no power source. It can even be carried onboard in a backpack.

"International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments,2004" establishes standards for the number of plankton and other living organisms in discharged ballast water.

So, demand for the "Ballast Eye" and "Ballast Catch" is expected to increase among government offices and shipping companies around the world that conduct inspection for calling a port.