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2014 • A supplement to Marine Propulsion & Auxiliary Machinery • Planning for the future
2014 • A supplement to Marine Propulsion & Auxiliary Machinery
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regulation • port state control • environment • technology • partnerships • directory
“How do I test my scrubber when I can’t use my fuel unless I take it out of the Emission Control Area?”
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30/07/2014 10:40
“When we talk about turbocharging, we consider the whole exhaust and air exchange, starting from the combustion chamber going through the turbine” Urs Gribi, managing director, ABB Turbo Systems
contents
2015
29
The red lionfish is causing havoc in Caribbean waters
introduction 5 It’s a question of confidence
digest
20 PSCOs will increasingly check
ballast water management systems
6 Concerns raised over US ballast policy 7 Manager’s choice based on USCG type-approval hopes; Trojan Marinex makes first USCG type-approval application 8 Struggling sector needs BWMC soon; RWO shelves CleanBallast marketing 11 GEA wins cruise contract; Tsuneishi completes first BWMS retrofit
regulation 13 Approvals grow slowly as delay lengthens 15 New Bill muddies US waters 16 A single set of US standards 18 IMO seeks input in online survey
port state control 42 USCG type-approval testing is getting underway
20 PSCOs and the new BWM regulations 25 The risk of false results 26 PSC looks for a practical solution
environment 29 Fighting aliens after they become established 30 The pirate in the Caribbean 32 Are all aliens a problem? 33 Leisure sector on alert
ship operator forum 34 Systems are too costly to operate 36 What managers say about BWMS
59 Suppliers report growing retrofit projects www.rivieramm.com
operational issues 38 Managing ballast water poses challenges Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015 I 1
contents supplier forum 42 Suppliers gear up for ratification 44 Fit and forget
technology 47 Six systems seek approval 48 Approval gives Coldharbour a lift 50 USCG appoints non-US BWMS laboratories 51 US and German checks under one roof
system selection 53 Selecting BWMS needs tailor-made solutions 56 LNGCs have specific BWMS requirements
service partnerships 59 Makers seek supply and service deals 60 Yards find BWMS partners
case studies 62 Coping with submerged ballast pumps 63 Keeping control of the process 64 Planning for USCG type-approval
published May 2015 Editor: Paul Gunton t: +44 20 8370 7003 e: paul.gunton@rivieramm.com Sales Manager: Paul Dowling t: +44 20 8370 7014 e: paul.dowling@rivieramm.com Group Production Manager: Mark Lukmanji t: +44 20 8370 7019 e: mark.lukmanji@rivieramm.com Subscriptions: Sally Church t: +44 20 8370 7018 e: sally.church@rivieramm.com Chairman: John Labdon Managing Director: Steve Labdon Editorial Director: Steve Matthews Finance Director: Cathy Labdon Head of Production: Hamish Dickie Executive Editor: Paul Gunton Portfolio Manager – Media & Event Sales: Steve Edwards Published by: Riviera Maritime Media Ltd Mitre House 66 Abbey Road Enfield EN1 2QN UK
opinion 66 Compliance cannot be optional 67 Shore-based treatment would be the best solution
on the horizon
www.rivieramm.com ISSN 2055-5172 (Print) ©2015 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd
69 Clarity is needed over dirty water 71 New guidelines prompt new questions
directory 72 A digest of available systems and their type-approval status
Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is correct, the Author and Publisher accept no liability to any party for any inaccuracies that may occur. Any third party material included with the publication is supplied in good faith and the Publisher accepts no liability in respect of content. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, reprinted or stored in any electronic medium or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner.
2015 • A supplement to Marine Propulsion & Auxiliary Machinery 2014
Ballast Water
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treatment technology
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introduction
Paul Gunton
I
It’s a question of confidence
hardly dare ask the question I asked last year: is this the year when the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) finally reaches its threshold tonnage? Maybe this time it will happen: the percentage of the world fleet covered by the 44 flag states that have ratified it is closer than ever – 32.57 per cent, just 2.43 per cent short of the 35 per cent target – and six states have signed up to it in the past year. As this issue went to press, India began moves towards ratification, which would add 0.78 per cent, leaving just 1.36 per cent to find. And some of the previous arguments against ratification – in particular, concerns expressed by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) over the G8 guidelines on type-approval testing – are being addressed. The 68th meeting of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is scheduled for May, as this issue of Ballast Water Treatment Technology goes to press. That meeting will consider the findings of a correspondence group set up to review those guidelines. On that basis, the ICS has changed its stance. And it represents shipowners, so if a flag state believes its clients are now more supportive of the convention, it may feel confident enough to take the tonnage figure over the threshold. Yet industry support is still lukewarm – not because shipowners are thoughtless about the environment, but because a ballast water management system (BWMS) is expensive to fit and costly to run, with no commercial benefit. The ‘opinion’ article on page 67 of this issue is enlightening: it was written by Kuba Szymanski, secretary general of shipmanagers’ organisation InterManager, and he canvassed his members for their views before reaching for his keyboard. www.rivieramm.com
Their preference is clear: they would have preferred a shore-based solution with a universal connection that any ship could use, rather than every ship carrying its own treatment system. I agree with that view, but we are where we are. And this is where we are: the estimated global cost to shipowners is so huge that manufacturers continue to swell the number of BWMSs that are available: our directory lists about 90 this year. Yet most admit that they have not seen much, if any, return on their investment in development. One company, at least, has had the good sense to shelve its BWMS marketing and focus on its core products until the situation becomes clearer. Whatever IMO does, however, is largely irrelevant: the higher US standards are what matter, yet not one BWMS has so far achieved USCG type-approval. In the Digest section, we report a contract that has been placed on the explicit basis that the chosen system will obtain that status. I admire both sides’ confidence.
M
eanwhile, two reports from one researcher have shaken confidence in BWMS tests and standards: one suggested that, since water used for most tests contained few bacteria, the tests did not confirm that they could deal with bacteria and were invalid. The other revealed errors in a 2011 advisory study that had been used to develop US discharge standards (see page 6). I am not concerned about the former report: it offers no evidence that systems cannot deal with bacteria. The latter, however, merits attention and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s response – that it will not reopen that analysis – is short-sighted. The BWMC will enter into force eventually. Those who will be footing the bill need to be sure that what they are doing is worthwhile and effective. BWTT Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015 I 5
digest
Concerns raised over US ballast policy
A
key document that informed US policy on ballast water management contained errors, some of its authors have admitted in a letter sent in March to Regina McCarthy, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The letter’s six signatories were all members of the Science Advisory Board (SAB) panel that submitted a report to the then EPA administrator in July 2011 about the efficacy of ballast water management systems. One of its signatories, Andrew Cohen, director of the Center for Research on Aquatic Bioinvasions, told BWTT that its conclusions had been cited by both EPA and the US Coast Guard (USCG) as the basis for the ballast water discharge standards they each subsequently adopted. The advisory board’s letter recalls that their 2011 report concluded that five types of shipboard treatment could meet the IMO D-2 standards, but that none had demonstrated the ability to meet standards 10 times more stringent. It goes on: “We recently re-examined the test data … and found, to the contrary, that some treatment types had demonstrated the ability to meet discharge standards that are at least 10 times, and in some cases nearly 100 times, more stringent than the IMO D-2 standards.” As a result, Dr Cohen said, the USCG “has set up an entire programme to test shipboard treatment systems to a standard that’s based on a faulty conclusion.” BWTT contacted both the EPA and USCG and an EPA spokesman provided a copy of a response sent to Dr Cohen by Christopher Zarba, director of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB). He wrote: “After an SAB report has been submitted to the EPA Administrator, the SAB panel’s work is deemed to be complete and the panel no longer exists. Therefore, the panel cannot reconsider the conclusions in a report.” This was the second time that Dr Cohen had raised concerns about aspects of ballast water management systems. He was co-author of an online article published in January by Marine Pollution Bulletin that 6 I Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015
Data on which US ballast water standards are based contain errors (credit: USCG)
claimed that, in 95 per cent of the type-approval tests on BWMSs, the level of bacteria in the test water was below the minimum level defined in the convention for treated water. As a result, these tests “provided no information on the ability of the treatment systems to prevent the transport and release of bacteria that cause human disease,” he wrote, calling for them to be retested. In an unusual move, IMO’s secretariat issued a statement about the paper, which said that the guidelines do not require bacteria to be added to the influent test water for health, safety and practical reasons. It tackled the paper’s central point by saying that it was acceptable for systems to be tested with water containing levels of bacteria that are lower than the maximum allowed to be discharged under the convention’s Regulation D-2. Jonathan Spremulli, technical director at the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), told BWTT that ICS had held a number of concerns about the G8 guidelines, but the question of bacteria concentrations had not previously been among them. Having read Dr Cohen’s article, he conceded that, “obviously, it is an issue”. BWTT www.rivieramm.com
Manager’s choice based on USCG type-approval hopes Greek shipmanagement company W Marine has entered into an agreement with ballast water management system (BWMS) provider Ecochlor based on its “confidence in Ecochlor’s ability to secure United States Coast Guard type-approval for its ballast water treatment solutions,” its technical manager, Kyriakos Koumparakis, said in a statement about the order. Ecochlor has submitted a letter of intent to the USCG to verify its readiness for testing, a spokeswoman for the company told BWTT. W Marine has specified Ecochlor’s BWMS for two 84,000 dwt newbuildings that will be constructed in China by Sainty Marine Corp. It has also secured options on six more systems to be retrofitted on its existing fleet of bulk carriers, ranging in size from 82,000 dwt Kamsarmaxes to 93,000 dwt post-Panamaxes, with an average age of three years. In the same statement, Ecochlor’s president, Tom
Perlich, said the deal was the start of a long-term relationship and said that it had come through W Marine’s “extensive selection process” and predicted that it would be able to ensure “that each of the W Marine vessels conforms to all current and future ballast water treatment requirements.” The spokeswoman said that, if W Marine is happy with the performance and efficacy of its systems, it will install them on the rest of its vessels. Mr Koumparakis said that it had carried out “significant
research into ballast water management systems” and that Ecochlor’s solution “met W Marine’s rigid requirements for a fully-automatic operation with low power consumption and a simple design.” He did not offer any further detail about the system’s suitability, but one observer suggested that it may be linked to its newbuildings being shallow-draught designs, suitable for operation in limited water depth. Ecochlor says its technology – which uses a two-step process of filtration followed by disinfection with chlorine dioxide – is not impaired by, among other things, turbidity.
W Marine expects Ecochlor’s system will meet USCG standards (credit: Ecochlor)
Trojan Marinex makes first USCG type-approval application Canada’s Trojan Marinex has submitted a type-approval application to the US Coast Guard, the first system to do so, according to consultancy firm Mouawad Consulting, which “worked closely with the Trojan Technologies team during this process,” it said in a discussion forum on the LinkedIn social media site in March. www.rivieramm.com
The company itself had not confirmed that application to BWTT as this issue went to press in late April, but its website has long proclaimed that the company has “carefully and deliberately implemented a strategy to put ourselves in a good position to be one of the first ballast water treatment system suppliers to
obtain USCG type-approval.” Its product suite obtained IMO type-approval from DNV GL on behalf of the Norwegian Maritime Directorate in March 2014, followed in August by acceptance from the USCG as an alternate management system (AMS). Trojan Marinex has published details of its testing ››› Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015 I 7
digest digest ferry ›››
arrangements, which it believes mirror those for USCG type-approval, and predicts that “many existing IMO typeapproved systems are unlikely to achieve USCG typeapproval without a substantial redesign of the system and extensive retesting.” Its system uses filtration and UV radiation to kill organisms in ballast water, prompting one consultant on the LinkedIn forum to question whether it would be
The Trojan Marinex BWMS has applied for USCG type-approval (credit: Trojan Technologies)
Struggling sector needs BWMC soon If the IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) does not prompt significant numbers of installations during 2015, “then we will all struggle,” said Tore Andersen, chief executive of ballast water management system (BWMS) maker Optimarin in an interview with BWTT. But he added that, luckily, “the USCG is in the front seat,” because of its own demands,
Tore Andersen (Optimarin): “The USCG is in the front seat” (credit: Optimarin) 8 I Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015
which will force many owners to use BWMS even if the BWMC remains stalled. Getting that type-approval, however, is not cheap, with five consecutive successful tests required, so Mr Andersen’s advice is to carry out pre-test experiments, “so you do not spend a lot of millions just for fun to see if it works in the end.” Optimarin carried out two such checks before beginning its formal type-approval tests. Costs such as those, together with the huge development investment, can put financial strain on companies that have backed this technology, expecting a return on their spending by now. Mr Andersen echoed comments made last autumn by the head of another BWMS manufacturer, who had spoken of losses accumulating across the sector. “We have been there,” Mr Andersen said. Optimarin made a small profit in 2012 and, assuming the market was about to open, it expanded its workforce in 2013. “Nothing
capable of meeting the USCG standard of less than 10 living organisms of 50µm or less per m3 of water. In its online FAQs, the manufacturer addresses the question of whether its system meets USCG discharge standards, saying: “We performed our IMO certification process to the rigorous standards required by the USCG, supporting our goal of achieving USCG typeapproval in 2015.” happened, so we had a terrible year,” he said, the company subsequently requiring significant cash injections from its shareholders and its largest backer, Klaveness Invest. Staff at Optimarin have been reduced again and the business restructured, resulting in an expected profit for 2014. The task now, Mr Andersen said, is to remain afloat until the boom comes – either following ratification of the BWMC or further to the company securing USCG type-approval. “Then it will fly,” he predicted.
RWO shelves CleanBallast marketing German manufacturer RWO is not currently marketing its ballast water management system, CleanBallast. Although details of the system can be found on the company’s website, it is not currently listed as one of its products and services. A spokeswoman for the company told BWTT that it is “in a phase of research ››› www.rivieramm.com
digest
›››
[into] what is going on in the BWMS market” and how it might develop. In the meantime, it is not offering the system, preferring instead to promote its core products, she said. As recently as the SMM exhibition, held in Hamburg last September, RWO offered its BWMS alongside such equipment as oily-water separators, and used that event to announce significant developments in its CleanBallast system.
Citing feedback from the shipping industry, the company used the event to announce, as “a first outcome of these discussions,” a new filter option for the system. Its new screen filter requires less space and produces excellent effluent results, the company said. RWO has not withdrawn the equipment from its product range, however, the spokeswoman said, and it is listed in the directory section of this guide. And details can still be found on RWO’s website.
GEA wins cruise contract
BallastMaster marineX each as well as an option for equipping a third cruise liner. The IMO-certified system with a throughput capacity of 500 m3/h features two-phase operation with mechanical prefiltration and subsequent disinfection of the ballast water by UV treatment without using and generating chemicals.
January saw GEA win its first contract for equipping cruise liners with the UV ballast water treatment system BallastMaster marineX, powered by Trojan Marinex. The contract with a European shipyard comprises equipping two new vessels with one
A new screen filter has been added as an option to RWO’s CleanBallast system (credit: RWO)
“This is an extremely interesting new market for our new product line of UV ballast water treatment which we have now extended to include the BallastMaster marine, and we intend to continue to consistently process this market“, said Michael Fibbe, GEA’s key account manager for cruise. BWTT
Tsuneishi completes first BWMS retrofit Japan’s Tsuneishi Shipbuilding has completed its first ballast water management system (BWMS) retrofit, at its Philippines yard, Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu). The work was carried out on a Capesize bulk carrier in March while the ship was in dock. The BWMS retrofit took 17 days, finishing on 20 March, and the ship left three days later after commissioning tests had been completed. The shipbuilder plans to
www.rivieramm.com
develop its BWMS retrofit business in anticipation of IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention coming into force. It will assess potential suppliers by comparing their equipment’s performance based on a range of factors, including their capacity and the space available for installation. For this first application, it fitted a system using filtration and chemical injection, but declined to identify the ship or the supplier to BWTT.
The shipbuilder will also calculate the retrofitting expenses and lifecycle costs, so as to offer “the most appropriate and economically efficient BWMS retrofit projects that are in line with the ship’s operating schedule,” it said in a statement. “At present, we would like to recommend filtration and chemical injection and seawater electrolysis systems from three major makers,” a spokeswoman told BWTT.
Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015 I 11
supplier forum
Suppliers gear up for ratification Once the BWMC enters into force, some uncertainties will remain
W
hether this year or next, ballast water management system (BWMS) suppliers expect that the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) will reach its percentage trigger point, bringing the convention into force a year later. Most expect it to reach that point this year or early next, and say that this is what their potential customers anticipate. But some sounded a note of caution. Birgir Nilsen, vice president of business development for Optimarin, recalled that the convention has been close to ratification for the past few years: “We’ll believe it when we see it,” he commented to BWTT. And, contrary to many in the industry, he described the decision by IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) last October to open up the G8 guidelines on testing as “a huge mistake.” That has, he said, “created more confusion regarding the future of the BWMS [systems] that are on the market today and an excuse for shipowners
Ecochlor began USCG type-approval testing in April at the Golden Bear facility (credit: Ecochlor) 42 I Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015
not to act now.” It was also being used, he said, by industry groups who are arguing against ratification. He cited Christopher Koch, chief executive and chairman of the World Shipping Council, who addressed the Ballast Water Management Summit in California in February, as holding that view. He had told delegates that, if the BWMC entered into force before US type-approved technology is available and before the G8 guidelines are amended, “Vessel owners would face a legal obligation … to install IMO type-approved technology that may not reliably meet the D-2 discharge standard and that may not be acceptable in the US trades.” That situation, Mr Koch said, “should be causing thoughtful governments that have not yet ratified the BWMC to pause before ratifying.” His emphasis on US type-approval was reflected in comments by a number of suppliers. “All ships in US waters will need to install a treatment system regardless of the BWMC,” pointed out Tom Perlich, president of Echochlor. Andrew Marshall, chief executive of Coldharbour, agreed: “In some respects IMO ratification is now secondary to the USCG requirements and it is this that is really driving the market right now.” Opinion was divided on whether, if ratification does not come soon, other regions might follow the US example, creating a variety of regional requirements and type-approvals. Thomas Bayer, sales director at Severn Trent de Nora for its Balpure BWMS, accepted that there was potential for this to happen, but observed that no major trading nation would want to make trade difficult or restricted. “So, I trust that, at the end, they will find some common ground with the IMO convention,” he said. Mr Nilsen, of Optimarin, suggested that the US approach “has achieved the opposite of what is desired: there are no systems being type-approved [to USCG standards] and, in the meantime, the environment is suffering.” Meanwhile, increasing numbers are getting www.rivieramm.com
USCG type-approval bench tests complement its shipboard assessments (credit: Great Ships Initiative)
IMO type-approval and more manufacturers are introducing more products to the market, despite the high cost of doing so. Mr Bayer estimated that it costs millions of dollars in external costs to get IMO type-approval and further millions to secure USCG type-approval. “That can be tough for smaller companies,” he said. And the process is not a fast one either: Mr Perlich estimated that obtaining USCG typeapproval will take 12-24 months. He predicted: “Many BWMS makers will decide to opt out of the USCG type-approval due to testing requirements and fees.” For its own part, however, Ecochlor’s system began land-based and shipboard testing in April and he expects it to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015. Stelios Kyriacou, technical director of BWMSs at Wärtsilä Water Systems, is dismissive of many recent entrants, describing them as entrepreneurs “catching up with the idea of making a quick buck.” Some of their systems are “nothing more than replicas or blatant copies of technology that exists elsewhere,” he commented, predicting that few will survive. Our directory listing in this issue includes about 90 entries, but no one expects the market to sustain that many in the long run. There are strong arguments that suggest it will be those with access to service networks, or partnerships with yards, or enjoying strong brand identity that will emerge as the long-term survivors (see page 59). How many that will be is impossible to know, but www.rivieramm.com
predictions do not bode well for most manufacturers. About a dozen will survive, Dr Kyriacou said. “We do not think there is room for more than 10 to 15 makers,” said Rasmus Folsø, chief executive of Desmi Ocean Guard. Of these, he added, “most shipowners and yards prefer the same five to 10 makers.” That figure was echoed by Mark Riggio, product manager at Hyde Marine, who foresees that, once the retrofit portion of the market has faded, “the market will probably support five to 10 major suppliers and some regional ones.” All the estimates offered to BWTT can be summed up by an assessment by Andrew Marshall, chief executive of Coldharbour, who said there would probably be no more than 20 once the market shakes out. “We are already seeing a number of manufacturers giving up and it is hard to imagine how so many of the ‘me too’ technologies can survive against products from large established players,” Mr Marshall predicted. All these factors – the convention not being in force, uncertainties over type-approval standards and cost – are discouraging owners from fitting BWMSs. For a newbuilding, of course, there is a choice of fitting the equipment or designing the ballast system so that one could be added later. In the past, BWTT has reported that most ships were simply made ready, but that is now changing. About half are now being fitted with the equipment, reported Mr Folsø, yet their owners are not necessarily satisfied with what they get. Some Asian yards, he Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015 I 43
supplier forum
said, “do everything they can to install the cheapest possible solution and it can be extremely difficult for a shipowner to avoid this.” In some cases, he added, “shipowners take delivery of vessels fitted with BWMSs that they expect to replace in the near future.” Mr Marshall told a similar story. “Owners are being forced to accept BWMSs that they simply did not ask for and did not want. Trying to have this kit removed prior to delivery often results in the yard seeking to impose penalties running to millions of dollars.” Faced with that cost, “It is easier to accept the kit on delivery and then plan to rip it out in favour of more suitable equipment at the first special
Fit and forget ‘Fit and forget’ is a term usually applied to equipment that, once installed, will run without further attention. For BWMS installations, it can have a rather different meaning: once fitted, it seems to be forgotten about and not used. But is that true? Tom Perlich, president of Ecochlor said that its first two systems, fitted in 2004 and 2006, have been in use ever since and provided a list of six other similar references. Mark Riggio, product manager at Hyde Marine, was equally upbeat. “Many of our systems are being used and we are accumulating good information from these owners,” he said. Their experience seems to be the exception: “Mostly, the systems are not being used regularly,” said Rasmus Folsø, chief executive of Desmi Ocean Guard. “This is a real challenge for the entire industry, because crucial service performance is lacking.” Birgir Nilsen, vice president of business development for Optimarin, agreed. “Most systems are not being used, either because local regulation does not permit discharge from treatment, or [because] owners and operators do not see the value in gaining operating experience with their selected system,” he said. This came with a cost, however. “Systems that have been idle for one, two or more years will have issues with corrosion, potential growth and electrical problems that have to be addressed before the systems can be operational again,” he warned. Thomas Bayer, sales director at Severn Trent de
44 I Ballast Water Treatment Technology 2015
survey,” explained Mr Marshall. Mr Nilsen reported similar experiences. “We are competing with protectionism [favouring the shipbuilder’s national manufacturers] and a price war. We need strong vendors that can sustain continued R&D and improvements of our systems.” It is possible for existing ships to pre-prepare for a BWMS installation, explained Mr Kyriacou. Wärtsilä offers its Aquarius Ready service, for which it will attend during a scheduled drydocking and carry out the hotwork in readiness for installing the equipment, which can be bought and installed at a later date. BWTT Nora (STDN) for its Balpure BWMS, said that some port states – he mentioned Australia, which has not ratified the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) – will not allow deballasting of water that has been treated by a BWMS, until the BWMC enters into force. Ships serving such states have no incentive to use their systems. Stelios Kyriacou, technical director of BWMSs at Wärtsilä Water Systems, mentioned the same thing, describing Australia’s policy as a step backward. While these examples might restrict operational experience, some systems can claim references from other sectors. Mr Bayer mentioned STDN’s long-term reliability records from other applications where it has installed its electrochlorination systems. “Hundreds, even thousands, of these systems have operated for decades on oil and gas platforms, FPSOs, LNG terminals, power plants and many other applications,” he said.
Many Hyde Marine installations are being used (credit: Hyde Marine)
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