RANGER III Ballast Water Treatment

RANGER III docked in Washington Harbor at sunset on a warm summer night

COURTESY BILL ROTH

Ballast Waters Transport Invasive Species into the Great Lakes

Mid-20th century efforts to expand the St. Lawrence Seaway opened the way for oceangoing vessels to navigate the Great Lakes. But in addition to transporting goods and cargo, large ships carry massive capacities of water in their ballast tanks, inadvertantly allowing the transport of living organisms from faraway seas. By the 1950s, the fisheries of the Upper Great Lakes began to suffer, and have continued since then to be ravaged by predators such as the sea lamprey, zebra mussels, and viral hemorrhagic septicemia, hitching a ride in ballast tanks.

Though small compared to some massive Lake Superior freighters, the Ranger III boasts a capacity of 32,073 gallons spread across its ballast tanks. Twice per week during the summer months, Ranger III makes its cargo and passenger runs from the Keweenaw Waterway to the pristine fisheries of Isle Royale National Park. The 165-foot vessel, built in 1958, is notoriously difficult to retrofit. Yet recent efforts to treat the ballast waters on Ranger III have served as a model for the broader maritime industry, pushing the bounds of what is possible by bringing researchers, industry partners, and technology to the task.

 

Early efforts in 2007, dosing bleach into RANGER III ballast tank.

NPS Photo

Chemical Treatment of Ballast, A Preliminary Approach

Massive fish die-offs across the Great Lakes region in late 2006 and early 2007, from the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), necessitated emergency measures to protect Isle Royale fisheries. Ballast treatment on Ranger III had historically been deemed a fundamentally impossible endeavor, given the age and logistical complexities associated with the vessel. Undeterred, park leadership and researchers from Michigan Technological University devised a rudimentary and effective protocol to eliminate any aquatic invasive species in the vessel's tanks. Chlorine bleach was injected on the suction side of the ballast pump and mixed with the ballast water as the two were agitated by passage through the pump. A continuous chlorine analyzer monitored chlorine levels in the ballast water stream (downstream of the pump). After a voyage across the lake and upon arrival to the Isle Royale waters, the chlorine was neutralized with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), for safe discharge into Lake Superior. It was a labor intensive and largely manual process. But until funding was found and technology had time to catch up, chemical treatment of ballast water on Ranger III proved to be successful.

 

Research on Ballast Water Treatment Pertaining to RANGER III
Document Library

In 2009, Isle Royale National Park commissioned The Glosten Associates, Inc. to conduct field trials to assess the effectiveness of chemical treatment on a ship's ballast water. Those trials on the MV Indiana Harbor, provided Emergency Response Guidance for the treatment of ballast water in the event of ship casualty or high-risk vessel arrivals. In 2022, the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Office of the National Park Service, published a Natural Resource Report, explaining the current challenges pertaining to ballast treatment and highlighting the efforts of the Ranger III.

Source: Data Store Collection 9400. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

 

Upon ballast intake, water flows through the physical filter and UV systems. At discharge, ballast makes another pass through the UV chamber.

HYDE MARINE

Permanent Treatment System

Inspired by the success of rudimentary ballast treatment efforts on Ranger III with chemical treatment, a few years of effort were spent at both research and the securing of funding for a more permanent system. Considerations around the discharge of treated water, availability, efficacy, electrical load, marine regulations, and fit on the Ranger III, resulted in a short list of viable systems. The Hyde Guardian Ballast Water Treatment System, HG60, became the frontrunner due to its ability to treat ballast without utilizing or generating any chemicals. Discharge is pure, filtered water with no additional substances.
The Hyde Guardian treats Ranger III ballast water, during both uptake of water from the lake and discharge back into the lake. During uptake, the ballast water is pumped through a 50 micron disc filter manifold. Organisms and particulates separated by the filter are back flushed and returned overboard at the uptake source. Following filtration, the ballast water passes through a UV treatment chamber where the water is exposed to UV radiation emitted by a series of high intensity lamps. During discharge, the ballast water bypasses the disc filter manifold and passes through the UV treatment chamber only before being discharged overboard.