US Patent 7527008 Ballast material and oil pollution prevention management system

The invention provides for a novel apparatus and a method to effectively manage ballast material. It comprises of a plurality of Floating Ballast Containers (25) contained within a bottomless enclosure and secured on the sea faring vessel such that each floating ballast container (25) floats in seawater. The volumetric capacity of the conventional segregated ballast tanks (30) on the sea faring vessel is similar to that of the Floating Ballast Containers (25) so as to facilitate the movement of the ballast material between the conventional ballast tanks (30) and Floating Ballast Containers (25). This process eliminates the need for treatment or disposal of the ballast material in to the sea.