Heavy ballast

Heavy ship ballast is the calculated extra weight added to a ship to ensure it has stability when constructed or altered and the safety of the vessel and its crew is not compromised when it has no cargo – without it, the ship could become unstable and unresponsive in adverse weather conditions and also have a reduced cargo capacity and operational capability. Prior to the 1880s, ships used solid ballast materials such as rocks and sand, which was labor-intensive and time-consuming as it had to be removed by hand out of cargo holds before new cargo could be loaded. Today, specialist high density or ‘heavy’ concrete is effective in providing stability.

Heavy ship ballast concrete is suitable for ballasting ships and marine structures. It is an excellent economical form of ballast as by its nature of composition it prevents voids so as all available space is utilised within the ballast area or below the tank top. High density concrete is suitable for placement in floating or fixed wind tower bases.

The density range of heavy ship ballast

High-density concrete can be produced within and up to the following densities range. 1.5t/m³ - 5.0t/m³ these high densities offer owners and operators a high density to space taken option. A non-magnetic high-density ballast of 3.6t/m³ can also be produced for use in vessels involved in counter-mine operations.