Ballast water is essential for the stability and maneuverability of ships cruising the seas. Marine plants, algae, animals, and microbes cross the oceans in the ships' ballast water. Discharged at the port of destination, these organisms are released into a different environment. Here they act as invaders which can seriously disrupt the indigenous ecology with negative consequences for the economy.

The largest amount of biomass (> 80%) in ballast water consists of phytoplankton – especially microalgae. Therefore, algae are an ideal parameter for ballast water quality control. An algae measurement will serve as an indirect test of a representative sample and is accepted by the IMO as an indicative analysis of ballast water.

bbe Moldaenke GmbH is a leading manufacturer of algae measuring devices. With decades of experience in this field, bbe is proud to introduce the development of the ultrasensitive 10cells method. The bbe 10cells is a light-weight field instrument for the quantification of living cells in ballast water before and after any ballast water treatment.