Stakeholder conference "Towards solutions for sustainable shipping and boating: better biofouling and ballast water management" will be organized by the COMPLETE project on 4–5 December 2019 in Jurmala, Latvia.
The aim of the conference is to discuss potential solutions and sustainable management options to reducing the risk of invasive species introductions caused by shipping and boating in the Baltic Sea Region. The latest findings on the magnitude of the biofouling issue, and the current practices for biofouling management will be presented, and cost-effective solutions to harmonizing management actions across the region will be sought. Biofouling management will be discussed from the viewpoints of both the commercial shipping sector as well as the leisure boating sector. Moreover, the need for an early warning system for harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in the region, and the scientific support for harmonized implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention will be clarified.
8–10 May 2019, Hamburg, Germany
Participants from the administrations and scientific sector of seven Baltic Sea countries who are going to perform ballast water sampling and analysis met in a COMPLETE workshop organised in Hamburg at the beginning of May. For the first time, knowledge and practical hands-on exercises for all stages from planning and sampling to analysis were included in one seminar, which was supervised by the internationally recognised scientists Dr. Matej David and Dr. Stephan Gollasch. Starting with background knowledge on sampling and analysis tools and methods, the participants got the opportunity to carry out practical work in a laboratory and on board the TUI cruise liner „Mein Schiff 5". All sections of the workshop took place right at the Elbe River, opposite to the Port of Hamburg that celebrated its 830th birthday in parallel. The gathered expertise will be further distributed by the participants, who also brought in their experience and questions concerning the further development of all ballast water issues. The materials and report of the workshop will be provided by the COMPLETE project. In addition, a documentary on the practical exercises combined with interviews with the experts will be prepared.
May 2019, Gothenburg, Sweden
COMPLETE partner Chalmers University of Technology (CHALMERS) completed in April 2019 a one-year study on hull coatings, including the testing of cleaning forces with an immersed waterjet device. The tested coatings correspond to ship paint products, including a biocidal anti-fouling product (AF) and a non-biocidal foul-release coating (FR). Additionally, an inert anti-corrosive coating was deployed monthly to evaluate the fouling pressure, i.e. the amount of marine growth on an unprotected surface.
16–17 April 2019, Klaipėda, Lithuania
The COMPLETE project partners gathered in Lithuania for a project meeting on 16–17 April 2019. The visit was hosted by the scientific coordinator of COMPLETE, professor Sergej Olenin and the Marine Research Institute of Klaipėda University. There were also representatives of the Klaipėda State Seaport Authority, an associated partner of COMPLETE, and guests from institutions involved in similar R&D projects on ballast water and biofouling from the Marine Biology Institute of the National Academy of Sciences (Odessa, Ukraine) and the Atlantic Branch of the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kaliningrad, Russia).
4–5 April 2019, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
The HELCOM and OSPAR Contracting Parties, the COMPLETE project partners and other stakeholders were invited to share experiences and ideas on biofouling management, to discuss the harmonisation of the evaluation of IMO Biofouling Guidelines MEPC.207(62) and IMO Guidance for recreational craft (MEPC.1/Circ.792), and to contribute to the work of IMO’s Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR), using the IMO Guidance for evaluating the Biofouling Guidelines (MEPC.1/Circ.811).
18–20 MARCH 2019, London, UK:
COMPLETE presented its ongoing work on Biofouling in the Baltic Sea Region at the GloFouling Project Inception Workshop.
The five-year GloFouling project (2019–2023) that focuses on the protection of marine biodiversity had is three-day kickoff-workshop at IMO Headquarters in London, United Kingdom. The project is a collaboration between the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). GloFouling addresses the introduction of invasive alien species (NIS) via ships’ hulls and other marine structures. COMPLETE Project partners BSH and Chalmers were in attendance at this 1st meeting. They are also strategic partners in GloFouling together with the project partner HELCOM.
Further information can be found here: http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/05-glofouling-taskforce.aspx
4-8 MARCH 2019, Weymouth, Dorset, England: COMPLETE partners will participate in the meetings of the ICES “Working Group on Ballast and Other Ship Vectors, WGITMO” and “Introduction and Transfer of Marine Organisms, WGBOSV”, and present and discuss the project progress at international expert level.
