Protection of the sea against invasive organisms carried by ships

Invazivne vrste predstavljaju jednu od najvećih prijetnji za ekosustave, a brojne štete uzrokovane njihovim unošenjem u nova područja dogodile se su prijenosom pomoću brodova. Veliki dio takvih vrsta prenese se putem vodenog balasta kojeg brod uzima usisavanjem mora, a koristi ga radi osiguranja stabilnosti i postizanja manevarskih sposobnosti. Kada brod stigne u luku ukrcaja, izbacuje balastne vode nazad u more, te tako razne morske vrste čini invazivnima. Tijekom boravka broda u luci, brojni organizmi će pokušati nastaniti dijelove trupa i tako dospjeti u nova obalna područja. Uslijed sve češćih šteta uzrokovanih invazivnim vrstama, pokrenuti su brojni postupci, prvenstveno u pravnom smislu, radi poticanja brodara na poduzimanje kvalitetnijih radnji u svrhu sprječavanja širenja invazivnih vrsta, a time i razvijanje naprednijih sustava s tim ciljevima.Invasive species are one of the biggest threats to ecosystems and countless damages that were caused by their introduction into new areas happened trough transport by ships. Large part of such species is transferred trough water ballast which the ship obtains by suctioning the sea and it is used to achieve stability and good manoeuvrability. When the ship arrives in a port, ballast water is discharged back to sea which causes various marine organisms to become invasive. While in port, numerous organisms will try to attach to the hull and thus reach other coastal regions. Due to ever more frequent damages caused by invasive species, many procedures, most legally oriented, were put in place, with the goal of incentivizing shipowners to take best possible actions in order to prevent the spread of such species, and in doing so, developing more advanced systems with the same goals