Each year, $9 trillion dollars of global trade, or about 85% of the world’s goods are transported by ship across our oceans. Bulk carriers, cargo ships and oil tankers are designed to transport enormous weight. Fully loaded, they have no problem cutting through buffeting oceans and rocky seas. But, during cargo on-load and off-load, the same ships are vulnerable to shifting loads and imbalances that must be addressed by moving water ballast to maintain stability. Ballast management is one of the many keys to safe seamanship, as thousands of ballast gallons are typically moved while in port. Here, an EchoSpan ultrasonic level transmitter is installed over each water ballast tank. The non-contact sensor provides continuous level data to the ship’s PLC, which in turn, automatically shifts ballast from one tank to another based upon the angle of the ship. EchoSpan is reliable ship ballast level measurement.