Battery-powered Öresundslinjen ferry notches up an environmental first with turnkey conversion and decontamination of soon-to-be-outlawed PFAS/PFOS fire-fighting foam to an environmentally friendly alternative
Maritime engineering company Scanunit has carried out what it believes is the world’s first replacement and decontamination of a PFAS/PFOS foam firefighting system on a commercial vessel.
1992-built ferry Aurora, operated by EQT-owned Öresundslinjen, a subsidiary of Molslinjen, had the system replaced in January this year.
An IMO resolution will see the phase-out of foam firefighting systems that use fluorinated foams containing perfluoro-octane sulfonic acid (PFOS) as the foam-producing component due to its negative impact on human health and the environment. The longevity of these chemicals has resulted in them being dubbed ’forever chemicals’.
Work on Aurora involved removing 200 litres of AFFF foam containing PFAS/PFOS and decontaminating the tanks, 200 m of pipelines and 52 spray nozzles of the ship’s firefighting system.
The decontamination was performed by Scanunit using Sani A supplied by LifeClean. Decontamination and cleaning of the system produced 2,200 litres of wastewater which was removed by waste disposal contractor Fortum.
Emptying the system of the PFAS foam began at 22:30 on Saturday and the system was able to be refilled with a fresh supply of fluorine-free foam concentrate by 06:00 on Sunday.
System tests after the changeover showed it is now far below the ECHA and EPA restriction of 1 ppm. The test carried out by Eurofins laboratory analysts on the Aurora sample returned a result of just 4,400ng/l or 0.0044ppm.
A statement by Scanunit says, “This collaboration between Scanunit, Life-Clean, Johnson Control, and Fortum Waste Solutions underscores a collective commitment to environmental responsibility and innovation in the maritime industry. The successful project not only meets the impending regulatory requirements but also sets a new standard for the industry’s approach to environmental safety and sustainability.
Scanunit managing director Marcin Mikołajczak says, "We are proud to support Öresundslinjen in reaching its environmental goals. Our innovative decontamination process reflects our commitment to delivering environmentally conscious and effective marine engineering solutions."
Öresundslinjen Aurora senior chief engineer Christian Andersson comments, “After almost 12 months of evaluating different options to get the ship’s engineroom fire suppression system PFOS/PFAS free, we chose to team up with Scanunit and LifeClean to decontaminate the system. Their strong co-operation together with Johnson Control, Fortum Waste Solutions and Eurofins gave us a cost-efficient option which met our expectations. Excellent project planning together with the ship’s crew meant the job was completed during the ship’s regular weekend night layup, avoiding unnecessary downtime. The ship is now ready for the 2026 PFOS ban with a fluor-free system and our efforts lead the industry in sustainability and environmental responsibility by taking early action.”
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