BIO-UV Group has entered into a partnership with water monitoring specialist MicroWISE to develop ballast water treatment and verification solutions aimed at addressing increasing enforcement pressure and the expected expansion of port-side reception facilities.
The collaboration combines BIO-UV Group’s BIO-SEA ballast water treatment technology with MicroWISE’s real-time organism analysis to support both treatment and compliance verification.
The partnership comes as port state control inspections continue to identify inconsistent system performance and ongoing non-compliance with the D-2 discharge standard, despite widespread installation of ballast water management systems across the global fleet. Many systems struggle to meet biological limits during operational testing, while authorities often lack rapid tools to verify compliance at the point of discharge.
As a result, ports are increasingly assessing onshore treatment and reception facilities to manage non-compliant ballast water in a controlled manner, with the aim of reducing congestion, delays and detentions.
MicroWISE’s biological monitoring technology enables in-line detection and quantification of viable organisms, allowing compliance to be assessed before discharge. By integrating real-time organism monitoring, BIO-UV Group aims to support port-based ballast water processing without disrupting vessel operations.
“One of the biggest challenges for ports is obtaining reliable biological data in real time,” said Pia Haecky, ceo of MicroWISE. “By providing independently verifiable organism counts at the point of treatment, ports and regulators can make faster and more transparent decisions on ballast water discharge. The value of precise biological data increases when it is paired with a treatment system capable of meeting required limits under operational conditions.”
Maxime Dedeurwaerder, business unit director for BIO-UV Group’s maritime division, said the collaboration reflects changing regulatory expectations.
“As enforcement of the D-2 standard becomes more stringent, ports and operators are recognising the need for dependable biological monitoring alongside treatment,” he said. “Combining BIO-SEA treatment with real-time organism analysis allows both elements to be addressed within a single compliance framework.”
The two companies will also continue joint research and development on sediment removal, flocculation processes and a potential single-pass treatment configuration to improve efficiency and reduce the physical footprint of port-side systems. The work aligns with BIO-UV Group’s broader interest in onshore environmental infrastructure as ports consider long-term investment strategies.
Dedeurwaerder said real-time verification is likely to become increasingly important as inspection regimes tighten. “Many vessels are equipped with ballast water systems that do not perform consistently under real operating conditions. This is shifting part of the compliance responsibility towards ports, which will require practical and scalable approaches to managing non-compliant discharges.”
The companies will continue validation work through 2026 as ports assess how integrated treatment and monitoring technologies can support ballast water compliance under evolving regulatory requirements.
