On board a ship, technical cycles must be kept closed and maritime ecosystems must be protected from environmental pollution. This importance is most evident in ballast water management.

Ballast water is taken up by seagoing ships in ballast water tanks provided for this purpose in order to achieve the required stability of the ship in operation. Depending on the state of the cargo, ballast water is constantly taken on and discharged. As ships travel in all regions of the world, the intake of ballast water ingests indigenous organisms that are not native to other areas when discharged and have no natural enemies there. They can reproduce there unhindered (woolly hand crab, zebra mussel, lamprey, etc.). The ecological consequences can hardly be estimated and cause enormous damage.

The national standard DIN 86270-3 "Ballast water management - Requirements and tests - Part 3: Efficient control" applies to equipment combinations with which the intended operation of a ballast water system is to be monitored and proven (documented) in the course of ballast water management in accordance with the valid ballast water management plan. 
The procedures to be applied in accordance with this standard should ensure that the ballast water management procedures (ballast water treatment in accordance with IMO BWM/CONF/36, Regulation D 2) laid down by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its subcommittee Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) are complied with by the chosen installation.

DIN 86270-3 guarantees that ballast water management on board a ship is operated according to the current state of the art - the prerequisite for keeping ballast water in the technical circuit.

Bilge water is usually treated by separation systems to separate oils, fuels and other contaminants from the water and thus prevent marine pollution. In this context, DIN 86735 "Oil-water separators - Tank system for bilge water on seagoing vessels" documents the basic system design of the bilge water tank system for the optimum treatment of all liquids. This is an application standard aimed at shipyards, ship operators, shipmasters and supervisory authorities.

Before the publication of DIN 86735, there were very different "installation recommendations", so that the oil-water separation systems rarely functioned well. For a proper functioning of oil-water separation systems (OWS), a technically good installation is required, which is ensured by applying DIN 86735. The standard thus serves to ensure that the installed separation systems function adequately. The application of DIN 86735 combats the causes of environmental pollution and pursues the overriding goal of keeping technical circuits of seagoing vessels closed, separating pollutants and reducing them to a minimum.

Shipbuilding is an international business and so DIN 86735 is serving as the basis for the development of the international standard project ISO/FDIS 21963 "Ships and marine technology - Marine environment protection - Tank and piping systems for facilitating 5 ppm oil water separation". Thus, shipyards worldwide can orientate themselves to this standard and contribute to the safety of the function of OWS. A proper tank and piping system is imperative, especially for better de-oiling performance of OWS.