It dumped ballast water too, and with it a virulent Asian strain of cholera bacteria. When a ship unloads its cargo, it takes on ballast water to compensate for the missing weight. Ballast water contains a variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and the adult and larval stages of marine plants and animals. In the process, BIO-UV has grown from a small business to an international company with its own US subsidiary. The last two entered the company’s capital in 2010 and 2014 respectively, specifically attracted by its growth prospects in the emerging market for ballast water treatment.