Results from the University of Michigan's ballast-free ship concept programme have shown significant cost savings, re-igniting the possibility of the elimination of ballast tanks. The concept of a ballast-free ship has been discussed for a number of years, with both the University of Michigan (U-M) and Japan's National Maritime Research Institute initiating projects to develop ships that dispense with the need for ballast water altogether. The U-M concept was conceived in 2001 and patented in 2004, and work is currently underway at the towing tank in the university's Hydrodynamics Laboratory, testing a recently-built 4.8m US$25,000 wooden scale model of an oceangoing bulk carrier.
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