Extended Operational and Trade Vocabulary

Ballast Water, Biofouling and Antifouling glossary (page 2)

The biofouling and ballast vocabulary: the AFS Convention and its certificate and declaration thresholds, ablative and self-polishing antifouling coatings, active substances and biocides, ballast water treatment, and the BWM Convention D-1 and D-2 standards. Grounds each term in the convention or treatment process that governs invasive-species control.

279 defined terms.

Showing 29 on this page (page 2 of 2).

T

Type approval (BWMS): Certification by a flag administration that a BWMS meets MEPC.300(72) BWMS Code requirements.
Type approval (USCG): US Coast Guard certification under 46 CFR 162.060 required for BWMS discharge to US waters.

U

Ultraviolet (UV) BWMS: Treatment using UV-C light (low or medium pressure) to inactivate organisms.
Underwater Inspection in Lieu of Drydocking (UWILD): Class survey method that incorporates a niche area biofouling assessment.
Underwater radiated noise (URN): Acoustic emissions from shipping addressed by MEPC.1/Circ.906 (2023) revised guidelines.
United States Coast Guard (USCG): Service combining law enforcement, SAR, port security.
Uptake (ballast): Intake of ballast water through sea chest and ballast pumps.
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Co-regulator with USCG under VIDA for incidental discharges.
US VGP (Vessel General Permit): 2013 EPA permit for incidental discharges; superseded by VIDA standards being developed.
UV transmittance (UVT): Optical clarity parameter that determines UV BWMS dose effectiveness.

V

Vector: Pathway by which an organism is transported; ballast water and hull fouling are dominant marine vectors.
Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA) 2018: US law harmonizing ballast water and other incidental discharges under EPA-set, USCG-enforced standards replacing VGP.
Viability (organism): Capacity of an organism to reproduce after treatment; the basis for D-2 compliance assessment.
Vibrio cholerae: Pathogenic bacterium regulated under D-2 (toxigenic O1 and O139) at less than 1 cfu per 100 mL.
Vinyl ester coating: Hard, non-biocidal coating chemistry used in some IWC-friendly products.
Voluntary biofouling guidance: Generic term for non-mandatory guidelines such as IMO MEPC.207(62) and MEPC.378(80).

W

Wadden Sea PSSA: PSSA designated by IMO in 2002 covering Dutch, German, and Danish Wadden Sea waters.
Wartsila Aquarius EC: Filtration plus electrochlorination BWMS by Wartsila.
Wartsila Aquarius UV: Filtration plus medium-pressure UV BWMS by Wartsila.
Waste heat BWMS: Pasteurization BWMS using engine waste heat, exemplified by Bawat.
Water quality challenge (BWMS): Marine, brackish, and fresh test conditions defined under MEPC.300(72) for type approval.
Western European Waters PSSA: PSSA designated by IMO in 2004 covering English Channel approaches and Atlantic waters.
Whole effluent toxicity (WET): Aggregate toxicity test on treated discharge required in some jurisdictions.
Working solution (chemical BWMS): Diluted active substance solution dosed into ballast water.

X

X-Press Pearl incident: 2021 container ship fire off Sri Lanka; relevant to broader marine environmental risk literature but not BWM-specific.

Y

Yacht biofouling guidance: IMO guidance MEPC.1/Circ.792 for recreational craft minimizing IAS transfer.

Z

Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha): Freshwater bivalve invasive in the North American Great Lakes from 1988, dispersed by ballast water from European ports.
Zinc pyrithione: Booster biocide used in antifouling paints in combination with copper.
Zooplankton: Drifting animal plankton, important to upper-ocean carbon cycling.