Servowatch Technology Puts Cathelco BWTS Ahead
Servowatch Systems’ cooperation with UK-based Cathelco has resulted in what is claimed to be the most technically advanced new generation ballast water treatment system (BWTS) on the market.
UK-based Servowatch has been working closely with Cathelco to develop a fully integrated alarm, monitoring, and process control system for its combination filtration and UV BWTS, a key component of the IMO approval process and U.S Coast Guard AMS acceptance.
Cathelco’s Projects and Development Manager, Steve Ellis said, “We wanted to develop a ballast water treatment system that could remain effective in the most challenging water conditions and in order to do that we needed an advanced monitoring and control solution capable of automatically adjusting to different water qualities. Servowatch fully understood what we wanted to achieve and provided a solution that has allowed us to introduce one of the most advanced ballast water treatment systems currently in the market place.”
Wayne Ross, Servowatch Systems’ Chief Executive Officer, said, “By fully integrating Cathelco’s ballast water management system with a ship’s computer system, a single operator can control all of the functions from one location, saving considerable time and effort in complicated ballasting operations. But this is only one aspect of the technology; it also monitors the ‘health’ of all the major components and logs the data in a way that can be easily extracted for use in the Ballast Water Handbook – an essential part of the Type Approval requirements.”
BWTS filters and UV chambers are constantly analysed so that cleaning cycles can be initiated with all data automatically logged in compliance with IMO requirements. This includes tank number, time/date of event, mode of operation, flow rate, temperature, power to UV lamps, UV transmission and calculated UV dose.
“Using standard MODBUS protocols, this higher level of integration and data acquisition, with multiple screens in different areas of the vessel, simply offers greater control and monitoring flexibility,” said Ross. “The Cathelco BWTS not only prevents the transfer of alien aquatic species but it takes the administrative sting out of ballasting.”
Ellis added: “Servowatch Systems unique capability went beyond simply designing a very sophisticated control and monitoring system; it developed a prototype and manufactured the panels. It provided a complete turn-key solution.”
Based on a combination of advanced filtration and UV technology, the Cathelco BWTS is available with capacities ranging from 34m3/h to 2400m3/h. Each unit features a space-saving twin UV chamber with only two lamps and is designed for both seawater and fresh water operation.
“Together, we have been able to develop a ballast water management system that has no restrictions on the salinities in which ships operate in U.S waters. It has been approved and accepted to work in marine, brackish and fresh water, allowing vessels to enter the Great Lakes and other inland waterways,” said Ellis.
The system received IMO Type Approval and Alternate Management Systems (AMS) acceptance from the US Coast Guard in May and November 2014, respectively.