Frost & Sullivan: Ballast Water Treatment Market at Full Speed With Massive Growth of Over 50% per Year

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Apr 27, 2010, 03:00 ET

LONDON, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Ballast water treatment (BWT) equipment has been in great demand following the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments in 2004. This Convention, aiming to address the issue of the so called 'invasive marine species', has made it mandatory for ships to have onboard BWT systems to meet strict quality standards regarding the discharged ballast water. As a result, more than 57,000 maritime vessels will require BWT equipment from 2009 to 2020.

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New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.environmental.frost.com), Global Ballast Water Treatment Systems Market, finds that the market holds massive growth opportunities from 2009 to 2020. The market is expected to grow at a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 52.8 per cent and generate revenues of $34.1 billion for the period 2009 - 2020.

National legislation in many countries, especially in the European Union and the United States, allows states to have stringent laws to protect the ecology of sensitive waters. "Certain geographic regions such as the Artic Zone or the Caribbean Islands are considered sensitive areas and there is increasing environmental and public pressure to not release ballast water at such areas and ports due to its harmful effects on micro-organisms," says Frost & Sullivan Research Manager Fredrick Royan." Some ship owners have started to install BWT systems in their ships to improve their corporate social responsibility (CSR) image."

The uncertainty around the ratification and enforcement process of the Convention impedes market growth at present. For the Convention to be effective, 30 states representing 35 per cent of the world's merchant shipping tonnage have to ratify it. So far, only 22 states representing about 23 percent of the merchant fleet tonnage have ratified it.

"Until the Convention is ratified, ship owners have limited incentive to purchase the systems," notes Fredrick. "In addition, the global economic downturn has affected the shipbuilding industry, lowering the volume of orders for newly constructed vessels, one of the two key market segments for BWT equipment."

Nevertheless, these issues are likely to be short-lived and the market is expected to post impressive growth rates, especially with some BWT systems providing value additions to the ship owner through enhanced protection from corrosion in ballast tanks.

This scale of opportunities has attracted nearly 50 systems suppliers to the market. Until March 2008, only eight companies were fully certified and approved, with the remaining ones either in the process of product development or in the process of certification.

The competition is diverse and includes traditional technology suppliers from the water and wastewater industry as well as marine industry equipment suppliers. Participants in the market include both large multinational companies as well as small system suppliers established specifically for the purpose of selling BWT equipment.

"Owing to the early stage of the market development, market leadership cannot be determined yet," observes Fredrick. "However, some companies have already demonstrated best practices, which can be leveraged by other suppliers looking to achieve success on the market."

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Chiara Carella, Corporate Communications, at [email protected], with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address and website, city, and country.

Global Ballast Water Treatment Systems Market is part of the Environmental Growth Partnership Services programme, which also includes research in the following markets: CEO 360: Sustainable Water & Wastewater Treatment technologies, Water & Wastewater Management in the Global Oil & gas Industry, Water & Wastewater Management in the Global Power Industry. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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Global Ballast Water Treatment Systems Market

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