Domestic and international arrivals of NOBOB (no ballast on board) vessels to lower Chesapeake Bay

We examined shipping patterns of NOBOBs arriving to lower Chesapeake Bay to begin evaluating their risk of biopollution. Only 14% of ships arrive as NOBOBs, and of those, 17% depart to another port in the upper bay. Most NOBOBs arrive from or leave for other US ports; proximate trans-Atlantic crossings are few. Given the nature of their operations, we conclude NOBOBs may represent a risk for aquatic nuisance species invasions to Chesapeake Bay.