Sojitz Corporation

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Initiatives in Biodiversity

August, 2012

Sojitz Marine & Engineering Corporation (SOMEC) invested in ballast water treatment system manufacturer Ecochlor, Inc. of the United States. Through this investment, SOMEC acquired distributorship for China, Korea and Taiwan in addition to Japan.

Used to stabilize vessels at sea, ballast water is taken on in ports where cargo is unloaded and discharged in ports where new loading occurs. However, this raises a concern that marine creatures (alien species) in the ballast water from one port will invade native species at the next port where the water is discharged, resulting in damage to the ecosystem. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments in 2004. If the convention goes into force, around 60,000 ships will be required to have ballast water treatment systems.

The system sold by SOMEC is compliant with United States Coast Guard standards, which are stricter than the IMO standard, and with the standards of individual U.S. states. Sojitz installed the system in one of its own ships that was completed in December 2011.

Ballast water treatment system
Ballast water treatment system

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