SeaCURE BWMS Completes First Stage Testing

Evoqua Water Technologies has become the first company to complete low salinity (brackish) water testing for ballast water management solutions (BWMS), the company announced today.

As part of United States Coast Guard (USCG) protocols, BWMS are designed to safely protect the environment and world economies from invasive aquatic species damage. 

Testing for the SeaCURE system for BWMS was completed at the Marine Environmental Resource Center (MERC) in Baltimore, Md. under rigorous conditions that replicate the environment in which the system will be operating, Evoqua said, noting it is the first to complete this phase of testing with a U.S. Independent Laboratory. The low salinity (brackish) trials are the first of three phases required for full USCG approval. The SeaCURE system will next move on to fresh water testing and sea trials planned for later in the year. 

The SeaCURE system has already attained alternate management systems (AMS) acceptance for fresh, brackish and full saline water and was the first electrochlorination system to receive AMS acceptance for all three salinities. AMS approval is a temporary designation granted to a system that has already been approved by an international administration. The SeaCURE system is believed to be the only side-stream electrochlorination system on the market to be AMS approved for all three types of water, according to Evoqua. The USCG protocol BWMS testing for the brackish water phase was completed on July 30, 2015. 

“The passing of this initial trial is no easy feat and we are proud to be the first to complete this testing with a United States independent laboratory,” said Rodney Aulick, president of Evoqua’s Products and Technologies division. “Our SeaCURE system is a great example of applying leading technology to benefit the environment, our customers and economies around the world.” 

The most widely referenced paper (Pimentel et al. 2005) on invasive species estimates the economic impact to the U.S. alone is more than $120 billion in damages every year.

“We’re very excited about moving on to the next stages of the process. It is our goal to be the first to complete all three phases of the USCG protocols,” said Ian Stentiford, vice president and general manager of Evoqua’s Electrocatalytic business. “As we are working to comply with U.S. regulations, we decided it would be most appropriate to test our BWMS via a U.S. Independent Laboratory. We believe the U.S.A testing provides the most realistic and stringent testing conditions for USCG approval.

“Approvals such as those we have already achieved will give our customers the confidence that they will not only be investing in a system that has passed the relevant compliance tests on a particular day, but also a solution that will comply with regulations for the lifetime of their vessel,” Stentiford said. “Our SeaCURE system is a proven solution that guarantees peace of mind, and in our view is the most reliable product of its kind available. Furthermore it is our belief that using our SeaCURE BWMS will ultimately increase the residual value of a vessel.”

Designed as a safe, secure system suitable for gas carriers, tankers, bulk carriers and container vessels, SeaCURE systems for BWMS is suitable for vessels with higher ballast water flow rates ranging from 500 to 4,000 cubic meters per hour. Higher flow rates can be accommodated by using multiple units. SeaCURE systems for BWMS are equally suitable for retrofitting on existing vessels as well as for installation and use on new-build ships.

SeaCURE systems for BWMS are based on the technology used in Evoqua’s Chloropac system, which, with over 40 years’ experience across the maritime industry, can operate continuously either as a marine growth prevention device or, when specified, as a dual-purpose system sharing the same resources for ballast water treatment. This flexibility in design can provide ship owners with maintenance savings and improved return on investment. 

The SeaCUREsystem is similarly designed to save energy and reduce operating costs for the ship owner. Variations in demand are taken into account to deliver biocide only at the dosage necessary for successful ballast water treatment.

Made in Caldicot, Wales, which is Evoqua’s Electrocatalytic division’s central location for product manufacture, Evoqua has entered into a number of partnerships to provide production capabilities across the world, and has also formed relationships with companies in the Far East to meet future demand. 

For example, Evoqua has established a relationship with Damen Shipyards to supply SeaCURE systemsthrough Daman’s worldwide BWMS retrofitting service. Damen’s BWMS experts use 3D scanning techniques to create a customized engineering package. Installation of SeaCURE systems for BWMS can be undertaken either at any of Damen’s 40 shipyards or alternatively at a customer-selected non-Damen yard.