Turner Designs partners with WSS to Sell Ballast-Check 2

Turner Designs is very excited to partner with Wilhelmsen Ship Services (WSS) to supply the ballast water community with Ballast-Check 2, a small, hand-held fluorometer which enables quick, indicative checks of ballast water samples.  Turner Designs will continue to work with their existing customer base of scientists, government agencies, port state control, and testing authorities while WSS will work with ship owners as well as companies that supply ships with equipment.   

For several years Turner Designs has been shipping Ballast-Check 2 to scientists, ballast water manufacturers, and testing groups receiving favorable feedback regarding its performance as an indicative tool as well as its ease of use. The Ballast-Check 2 was included in the USCG validation in 2015, from which conclusions are expected in the next few months.  It was also included in the BSH-funded RV Meteor voyage, June 2015, during which hundreds of samples were analyzed using multiple indicative tools.  The Ballast-Check 2 is well positioned as a tool to give confidence that ballast water systems are working to meet the standards. 

Pam Mayerfeld, Turner Designs Vice President of Marketing and Sales, comments, “For over 40 years, Turner Designs has provided scientists and government agencies around the world with fluorometers for water quality applications.  We rarely work directly with ship owners and operators in the maritime industry and are happy to find a strong partner with an excellent reputation such as WSS to help us support the shipping community.” 

Full testing of ballast water samples can be a time-consuming process requiring trained personnel and expensive equipment which is why indicative analysis is being validated.  Portable tools such as the Ballast-Check 2 which require no reagents and minimal training are an ideal way for ship operators to quickly check with confidence that they meet discharge standards before pulling into port and to provide documentation to port state control officials.  These instruments are also ideal for taking onboard to provide a quick measurement of ballast water samples to address any port state concerns.