The introduction of Invasive Aquatic Species (IAS) to new environments by ships and other mobile marine structures has been identified as a major threat to world’s oceans and the conservation of biodiversity. A multitude of marine species, carried either in ships’ ballast water or on ships’ hulls, may survive and establish in a new environment, become invasive, outcompete native species, and multiply into pest [1]. On the other hand, recent research suggests that the attachment of fouling organisms on ships’ hulls and other mobile marine structures is also a potential vector for the transfer of IAS [2].
The IAS problem begins when a biofouling species attaches on ship hull and being carried (hitching a ride) from one area to another area which has new ecosystem or habitat conditions. If the biofouling species has an invasive nature, that is, it can adapt predominantly, for example, becoming a predator in the new environment, the ecosystem structure of the new environment is potentially changes and turns out to have a negative impact on the environment. The negative impact aroused can be in the form of loss of local species (biological loss), decreased aquaculture yields (economic losses), or even the emergence of new outbreaks [3].
