This year, the Volvo Ocean Race is not only about sailing. The crew will also map the amount of life in the oceans in a unique research project. The aim is to collect valuable information that might contribute to preventing the spread of invasive species, a major threat to the worl's oceans. Behind the initiative are Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and Wallenius Water.
The crew in the Volvo Ocean Race has a different task this year - to take water samples to map the amount of life in the oceans. A project of this kind has never been made before. The aim is to collect valuable information that might contribute to preventing the spread of invasive species, a problem that the UN's maritime organization, the IMO, classifies as a major threat to the oceans. Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and Wallenius Water took the initiative to the project.
– The project has several goals, says Anna Larsson, Head of Corporate Communication at Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics. It's about spreading knowledge on the problem with invasive species and inform about what can be done already today. The resuls of the water sampling project will also be important for future research within this field.
David Stenman, Vice President Research & Development at Wallenius Water, says that a similar project never has been done before.
– No one has previously measured the amount of biomass in the oceans in such a large project and in so extreme conditions as during the Volvo Ocean Race. We will analyse and summarize the results in a research report once the race is over.
Ships are the main reason for spreading invasive species. 90 per cent of the global transport of goods now takes place by ship, a method of transport that is expected to increase threefold within 10 to 15 years. Between three and five billion tonnes of ballast water are transported around the world every year. With this water travel organisms, which when the ballast water is emptied pass out into natural ecosystems. One current example is the warty comb jelly, which originates from the Atlantic coast of America, and is now spreading rapidly in the Baltic Sea. It has already wiped out a large proportion of fish stocks in the Black Sea.
Even though solutions to clean the ballast water exist, they are not used by the great majority of shipowners, since forcing legislation is missing. Despite the fact that the UN classifies this problem as a major threat to the oceans, Sweden and many other countries have not yet ratified the convention that forces ships to clean their ballast water. At present only 16 countries, which account for around 14 per cent of discharges of ballast water, have ratified the convention. For it to come into force it is a requirement that at least 30 countries, which account for 35 per cent of discharges, add their signatures.
– If the countries that are affected by the Volvo Ocean Race sign the convention it will come into force and force ships to clean their ballast water. This is a global problem that requires global action, says Torkel Elgh, Managing Director at Wallenius Water. Sweden being one of the countries that hasn't signed the convention is very sad.
A database listing invasive species around the globe is found on:
http://www.issg.org/database/welcome/
For further information please contact:
Torkel Elgh, Managing Director, Wallenius Water
Tel: +46 (0)73-942 2217
Anna Larsson, Head of Corporate Communication, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics
Tel: +46 (0)73-6820884
Wallenius Water was founded in 1996, and is an environmental technology company that has developed a chemical-free method of purifying water. This patented method, Wallenius AOT, is currently used to purify everything from drinking water to the water employed in cooling towers and greenhouses to the water in various industrial processes and ballast water. The technology is effective, economical and ecologically sound.