Ballast Water Management Systems News

The Erma First Group has completed the acquisition of Ecochlor, broadening its range of ballast water treatment systems (BWTS), future-proof decarbonisation solutions and related services.The acquisition consolidates the company’s status as one of the world’s largest BWTS providers.Ecochlor’s BWTS portfolio comprises a filtration- and ClO2-based system and two versions of the EcoOne™ solution. The first is a filterless system that uses ClO2 alone and consumes just 10–20 kilowatts of power even at very-high flow rates.

INTERTANKO is opening its Ports with Challenging Water Quality Database to non-members in a bid to increase understanding of the issues that ballast water management systems are facing.Any shipowner can now contribute to the results by submitting their own reports.The database is designed to support vessels calling at ports that cause ballast water management systems (BWMS) to run sub-optimally due to challenging water quality conditions when taking on ballast.The database is…

Alfa Laval reports it has received an order to replace 18 ballast water treatment systems (BWMS) onboard vessels belonging to a major European shipowner. Over the past two years, Alfa Laval has replaced more than 250 systems from 30 different manufacturers, and the orderbook for replacement continues to grow.“With the consolidation of the BWMS market, we see a growing need for replacing installed BWMS systems,” said Tobias Doescher, Head of Global Sales, Business Development and Marketing, Alfa Laval PureBallast.

Wendy Laursen’s article Getting the Numbers Right, published in the August issue of Maritime Reporter, sparked debate from ballast water management experts. Here Jad Mouawad, CEO of Mouawad Consulting, provides his feedback on the article which outlines the challenges the industry has faced trying to reduce the occurrence of invasive marine species transferred by ballast water.We have now the vast majority of ships fitted with ballast water management systems (BWMS). I would say…

It was never going to be realistic to expect treated ballast water to have zero viable organisms on discharge.The G8 guidelines that define the type approval process for ballast water treatment systems were initially agreed at the IMO before any systems had actually been developed.The IMO had already been working on the issue of invasive species being transferred around the world in ballast water for a couple of decades. It was on the radar back in the 1970s. At MEPC 31 in 1991…

Wendy Laursen’s article Getting the Numbers Right, published in the August issue of Maritime Reporter, sparked debate from ballast water management experts. Here Giles Candy of Giles Environmental LLC – Independent Ballast Water Consultant, provides his feedback on the article which outlines the challenges the industry has faced trying to reduce the occurrence of invasive marine species transferred by ballast water.Ballast water is a complex multi-faceted subject with few simple…

Wendy Laursen’s article Getting the Numbers Right, published in the August issue of Maritime Reporter, sparked debate from ballast water management experts. Here Mark Riggio, owner of Simplify Ballast, LLC, provides his feedback on the article which outlines the challenges the industry has faced trying to reduce the occurrence of invasive marine species transferred by ballast water.I felt it was important to speak out about this article for a number of reasons, but mostly because the tone of the article is out of touch with where the industry is heading…

DESMI announced it is now offering advanced ballast water testing, analysis and evaluation services to help shipowners verify the quality of onboard ballast water to comply with the Ballast Water Discharge Standard.The company said it signed a contract with Eurofins Maritime Services, a part of the international group of Eurofins-laboratories, known for its wide range of analytical testing services across various industries, including the marine sector. The contract was finalized on September 4 during the SMM maritime trade show in Hamburg…

It was never going to be realistic to expect treated ballast water to have zero viable organisms on discharge.The G8 guidelines that define the type approval process for ballast water treatment systems were initially agreed at the IMO before any systems had actually been developed.The IMO had already been working on the issue of invasive species being transferred around the world in ballast water for a couple of decades. It was on the radar back in the 1970s. At MEPC 31 in 1991…

Italy on Tuesday appointed a special commissioner to tackle the spread of the blue crab, an aggressive species that is preying on local clams and threatening a lucrative part of national food production.Originally from the western Atlantic, blue crabs have proliferated in several locations around the Italian coast, particularly in the Po river delta in the north, where attempts to curb numbers with large fishing campaigns have had little success.Experts say the blue crabs probably arrived in Italy via shipping ballast water…

With the final ballast water deadline fast approaching, UV-based water treatment specialist BIO-UV Group said it anticipates an increase in inspections as Port State Control (PSC) inspectors check machinery installations, crew competencies and Ballast Water Management (BWM) Plans.From September this year, all vessels subject to the BWM Convention must have installed a D-2 compliant ballast water treatment system capable of dealing with the maximum number of viable organisms allowed to be discharged.

BIO-UV Group has received an order from SIEM Ship Management to supply its BIO-SEA Ballast Water Treatment Systems for a trio of SIEM-managed car carriers. The order, for retrofit installation to the Siem Copernicus, Siem Curie and Siem Socrates, is the latest in a series of deliveries of BIO-SEA B-Series equipment for installation onboard around a dozen SIEM Ship Management reefer vessels since 2021.In this latest order, BIO-UV Group’s maritime division will provide B02 BIO-SEA BWTS units with a medium to high flow rate of 300-cu.m.

IACS has published a new recommendation, Rec. 180, for Conducting Commissioning Testing of Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS).Efforts to streamline the implementation of BWM Convention took a significant step forward with IMO’s approval of the “2020 Guidance for the commissioning testing of BWMS" and IACS has now further bolstered these efforts with the development of a comprehensive Recommendation (Rec. 180) to facilitate the smooth, effective and harmonized implementation of commissioning tests requirements in line with the international regulations.The guidance in Rec.

Optimarin AS, a Norwegian supplier of ballast water treatment systems (BWTS), announced it has agreed to acquire the Hyde Marine UV business from the Italian multinational Industrie De Nora S.p.A.

Ballast water management systems (BWMS) manufacturer Techcross said it plans to roll out a variety of eco-friendly shipbuilding equipment lineups in addition to the existing BWMS at the Sea Japan 2024 maritime trade show."The optimal solutions provided, based on extensive engineering and installation experience, are expected to not only reduce costs for customers but also contribute to the protection of the Earth’s environment," the South Korean-based company said.Techcross said it will also officially begin sales of HYCHLOR 2.0, a non-filter type indirect electrolysis BWMS that received U.S.

Techcross recently opened the doors for its new training center in Athens, Greece, its 7th training center opened globally in major shipping hubs that offers training on actual equipment.An opening ceremony for the Greece training center, designated as a hub for training in Europe region, was held recently at the newly relocated ARGO NAVIS building. The ceremony was attended by nine representatives, including Park Seog-won, CEO of Techcross, and Ioannis Alevropoulos and Maximous-Ioannis Katsidimas…

Techcross announced its filterless HYCHLOR 2.0 ballast water management system (BWMS) obtained type approval from the U.S. Coast Guard at the end of January 2024.Techcross' HYCHLOR 2.0 is an updated version of the company's  HYCHLOR 1.0 system, which received USCG type approval in 2020. Notably, the filter had been eliminated in the HYCHLOR 2.0 system.BMWS filters, which play a role in initially filtering out sediment in seawater, have been a source of many AS service issues due to clogging or maintenance troubles.While the absence of filters may raise concerns about disinfection capability…

Mouawad Consulting, Boll & Kirch, bestUV, KraftPowercon and Lower Lakes Towing, have received CAD 5 million from Transport Canada towards a project aimed at addressing technical challenges surrounding the installation, operation, and maintenance of ballast water management systems (BWMS) on vessels operating within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River (GLSLR) region."The significance of this grant cannot be overstated. Through our partnership with Mouawad Consulting, Boll & Kirch…

Techcross, a comprehensive environmental company, will participate in the 2023 Kormarine.Techcross, known for its performance and sales in electrolysis-type ballast water management systems (BWMS), will showcase its expansion into new business areas alongside its existing BWMS at the 2023 Kormarine.As regulations have become more stringent for achieving net-zero and environmental protection goals, Techcross has diversified its lineup of ESD (Energy Saving Device) aimed at improving ship operation efficiency as well as focusing on AMP system.

Next year marks a crucial milestone for the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, with all ships required to meet the D2 standard for ballast water management by 8 September 2024. D2 specifies the maximum number of viable organisms allowed to be discharged. In most cases, it requires the installation of a ballast water management system (BWMS) on board the vessel.2024 will be a pivotal moment for the ballast water market and while it is true that the retrofit market will diminish and leave behind only a small newbuild market…

Ballast water management system company Techcross said it has installed a BWMS in the engine room of an existing tanker. This installation method, called the “Engine Room Solution”, was patented under the name of Techcross in Korea in 2016 and has been applied only to new ships so far. However, this is the first time it has been applied to an existing ship.One set of ECS 1000B model was installed on the 50,400 PC tanker owned by Horizon Tankers Limited S.A. (under Target Marine Group), based in Greece, using Techcross’ Engine Room Solution.

BIO-UV Group said that a BIO-SEA Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) designed for the Unites States Navy (USN) completed Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) at the production facility in France. BIO-UV Group now has approval to ship the system to a USN facility for operational testing.BIO-UV Group is working with The Columbia Group, Inc. (TCG), a U.S.-based engineering partner, and prime contractor in the development project. Teaming up with BIO-UV Group design engineers, TCG was…

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has released its U.S. Port State Control Annual Report for 2022, with Latvia noted as having the highest detention ratio, ahead of Bolivia.The report lists highest risk flag administrations based on their 2020-2022 detention ratio as: Latvia (57.14%), Bolivia (31.25%), Togo (7.69%), Curacao (4.88%), Italy (3.39%), Turkey (2.90%) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2.30%).Medium risk flag administrations were Cyprus…