Maritime Services

Maritime Services

Are you looking for a realistic assessment of the possible environmental impact of wastewater, marine pollution, or antifouling agents? Would you like to brainstorm about the environmental aspects of innovations in the maritime sector? If so, look no further than Wageningen Marine Research. We would like to join you in exploring solutions for new challenges such as climate change, multifunctional use of space, and the sustainability of the maritime sector.

What we can do for you

We help you in finding answers

Using standardised short-term laboratory tests (bioassays) with bacteria, algae, crustaceans, and fish, we can determine the toxicity of treated ballast water, produced water from offshore platforms, other wastewater (effluents) or substances. We conduct research in mesocosms for a more realistic assessment of the environmental impact of wastewater, chemical substances and products, waste (microplastics), or human actions. These are a type of marine water ponds in which part of an ecosystem is experimentally simulated. Mesocosms can be used to research natural processes such as the breakdown of substances, interactions between species, and recovery of populations.

In our research, we strive to simulate the natural circumstances as closely as possible. This enables us to help our client to gain realistic insight into the actual impact of their activities on the marine environment.
Edwin Foekema, project leader at Wageningen Marine Research

We are also involved in research into the impact of offshore installations and artificial reefs on the ecosystem and biodiversity in the North Sea. As a result, we have good insight into the biological communities that develop on these structures. We also utilise this knowledge when exploring alternative antifouling agents.

Finally, we also conduct research into the environmental impact of incidents at sea, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the more recent MSC Zoe container incident.