Shoreside ballast water services expanding in Europe

European ports and shipyards increased the use of land-based ballast water reception facilities during 2025, with deployment activity reported across Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden, notes Bawat chief strategy officer Tim Reeve.

The trend, he noted, was linked to wider ballast water compliance activity and the operational use of reception facilities as part of portside service provision. Bawat recorded a 200% increase in deployments in 2025 and a 600% rise in the amount of ballast water treated compared with the previous year.

So far in early 2026, Bawat has completed 10 deployments using three mobile systems during the first two months of the year.

Mr Reeve sees this activity as an indication that land-based reception facilities are being incorporated into routine operational planning rather than remaining an occasional option.