Ballast tanks – found in large scale shipping, fishing, and naval vessels – store water to provide stability in open sailing. Vessels of these sorts are subject to inconsistent loads based on the nature of the sailing – an empty fishing vessel leaving port is much lighter than a full shipping vessel returning to port. A ship’s center of gravity should be low while a ship’s center of buoyancy should be higher. In order to account for changing cargo loads and sea conditions, vessels must make fine adjustments to their center of gravity to prevent rolling. Designed with speed and efficiency in mind, ballast pumps can rapidly fill or empty ballast tanks to meet the ship’s current stability requirements.
