Integrated Biological Risk and Cost Model Analysis Supports a Geopolitical Shift in Ballast Water Management

This work evaluates efficacies of plausible ballast water management strategies and standards by integrating a global species spread risk assessment with a policy cost-effectiveness analysis. Specifically, we consider species spread risks and costs of port- and vessel-based strategies under both current organism concentration standards and stricter standards proposed by California. For each scenario, we estimate species spread risks and patterns using a higher-order analysis of a global ship-borne species spread model and estimate fleet costs for vessel- and barge-based ballast water treatment systems for each standard. We find that stricter standards may reduce species spread risk by a factor of 17 globally and would greatly simplify the complex network of ship-borne species spread. The current policy of IMO standards is most cost-effectively achieved through ship-based treatment, and that any additional risk reduction will be most cost-effectively achieved by port-based (or barge-based) technologies, particularly if these are strategically implemented at the top ports within the largest clusters. Barge-based ballast water management would require a shift in governance, and we suggest that this next level of policymaking could be feasible for special areas designated by the IMO, by State or multistate authorities, or by voluntary port applications.