BWTS in a Box Fits in Cargo Hold

New ClassNK-approved container-type Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) installation technology.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), working jointly with Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), has developed installation technology of a ballast water treatment system (BWTS) enclosed in a standard-size freight container for installation in the hold of container ships.

The new technology will significantly reduce BWTS retrofitting turnaround time in comparison to engine-room BWTS installation. Going forward, MHI and MOL will strengthen proposal-based marketing of the new technology as a key solution for Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention compliance.

The container-type BWTS houses most devices necessary for ballast water treatment in a 40-ft high-cube container - approx. 12.2meters (m) in length, 2.4m in width x 2.9m in height. Within the container, the devices are arranged to maximize available space and facilitate maintenance. 



When installing the container-type BWTS in the ship hold, preliminary surveys are simplified because the only major work needed is ballast water intake/discharge and power line connection. In most cases, work can be completed in approximately two weeks, about seven days less than installation in an engine room. The work does not require cutting of the ship's side shell, and can be completed at pier, eliminating the need to drydock.

The container-type BWTS is ideal for ships that do not have enough space in the engine room for related systems and piping.



MHI and MOL will verify the new system's operation by installing it on MOL Competence, an 8,100 teu (20-ft equivalent unit) container ship that MHI built at its Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works and delivered to MOL in 2008. MHI has already begun detailed design of a system with the capacity to process 750 cubic meter (m3) of ballast water per hour on the ship, with installation slated for this spring.