BIO-UV Group has announced a strategic partnership with water-monitoring specialist MicroWISE to develop new ballast-water treatment and verification solutions designed to address rising enforcement pressures and the anticipated growth of port-side reception facilities.

The collaboration combines BIO-UV Group’s long-established BIO-SEA ballast-water treatment technology with MicroWISE real-time organism analysis, creating an integrated approach to treatment and compliance validation.

The partnership comes at a critical moment for the maritime industry. Although ballast-water management systems have now been installed across most of the global fleet, port-state control inspections continue to reveal inconsistent performance and persistent non-compliance with the D-2 discharge standard.

Many systems struggle to meet biological limits during operational testing, and authorities lack rapid tools to confirm whether discharged water is compliant. As a result, ports are exploring dedicated treatment and reception capabilities to handle non-compliant ballast water safely and efficiently as a way of reducing congestion delays, and detentions.

MicroWISE biological monitoring technology enables accurate, in-line detection and quantification of viable organisms, allowing compliance to be assessed before water is discharged. By integrating real-time organism monitoring, BIO-UV Group can deliver a BWTS compliance solution that allows ports to process ballast water while avoiding any operational disruption.

“One of the biggest challenges for ports is obtaining reliable biological data in real time,” said MicroWISE CEO Pia Haecky. “By providing independently verifiable organism counts at the point of treatment, we give ports and regulators the confidence to make fast, transparent decisions about ballast-water discharge. Our technology provides precise, real-time biological data, but the value of that data increases when paired with a treatment system that can consistently achieve the required biological limits. Working with BIO-UV Group allows us to build a compliance pathway that is both scientifically robust and operationally practical for ports.”

Maxime Dedeurwaerder, Business Unit Director for BIO-UV Group’s maritime division, said the partnership reflects a strategic response to tightening regulatory expectations.

“As enforcement of the D-2 standard becomes more stringent, ports and operators increasingly recognise the need for reliable biological monitoring alongside effective treatment. Our partnership with MicroWISE enables BIO-UV Group to deliver a solution that provides both. By combining our proven BIO-SEA treatment technology with real-time organism analysis, we are creating a new benchmark for compliance verification.”

The companies will also continue joint R&D on sediment removal, flocculation processes and a potential single-pass treatment configuration to improve efficiency and reduce the footprint of port-side systems. The collaboration also supports BIO-UV Group’s plans to expand into the wider environmental-infrastructure market as ports consider onshore treatment as part of long-term investment strategies.

Dedeurwaerder said the ability to verify biological compliance in real time will become increasingly important as regulators tighten inspection regimes. “Many ships are fitted with ballast-water systems that do not consistently perform under real operating conditions. As a result, the burden of compliance is shifting toward ports, which will need practical, scalable solutions to handle non-compliant discharges. The combination of BIO-SEA UV treatment and MicroWISE monitoring provides the level of confidence and traceability port authorities are looking for.”

BIO-UV Group notes growing international interest in port-side treatment solutions, and the two companies will continue validation work throughout 2026. Both partners expect integrated treatment and verification technologies to play an increasingly central role in how the industry manages compliance over the next decade as environmental regulation expands and inspection regimes intensify.

BIO-UV Group and MicroWISE said the partnership represents a significant step towards enabling ports and operators to achieve reliable, transparent and enforceable ballast-water compliance at a time of rising regulatory scrutiny.