The Evac Evolution ballast water management system (BWMS) has been granted IMO type-approval.
The system has been designed and manufactured by Cathelco, which has been part of Evac Group since May 2018.
The system has been tested to the latest IMO requirements which encompass the revised G8 standard.
Evac Group’s chief technology officer Lauri Laaksonen said “We are delighted to have achieved IMO approval to the latest standards. It means that customers can have complete confidence in buying our equipment because we have had to prove that our design limitations are accurate and that the system operates reliably in real-world conditions.”
The news comes at a time when the Evac Evolution BWMS is also well on its way to attaining US Coast Guard type-approval having been on the pending list since November last year.
This is the second time around the approvals circuit for Cathelco, which received IMO type-approval for its Mk1 BWMS in May 2014, followed by US Coast Guard AMS approval six months later.
The latest test programme was conducted at the MEA facility in Holland with Lloyd’s Register acting as the independent laboratory working under the flag state regulations of the UK’s Marine & Coastguard Agency.
According to EVAC, since 2014, the Mk1 BWMS has been operating reliably on vessels as diverse as container ships, roro cargo vessels, offshore support vessels, fishing craft, luxury cruise ships and superyachts.
When the US Coast Guard rejected the IMO’s ruling on the acceptability of ‘viable’ life forms (able to reproduce) in favour of ‘non-viable’ (dead) and it became apparent that this would become the universal standard, Cathelco redesigned the system and embarked on another round of testing.
“It was the right decision because we knew that our system would be designed to where legislation was heading and would be flexible enough to comply with future requirements”, Cathelco’s technical director Robert Field explained.
For Cathelco, this proved to be the case when the IMO subjected equipment to greater scrutiny in terms of realistic ‘scaling’ in relation to flow rates, sediment loads on filters and closer examination of the efficacy of the system in comparison with holding times.
“Our system has met all of these criteria without compromise,” said Mr Field. “We set the objective of achieving effectiveness down to 55% UVT in all salinities and we have adopted linear scaling which means that it will work on all types of vessels”, he added.
According to Evac, the Evolution BWMS is based on a combination of filtration and UV technology and incorporates a unique feedback ‘loop’ based on measuring UV transmission which determines precise dosage.
It automatically adjusts to different seawater qualities in harbours and estuaries ensuring the optimum UV dosage is applied at all times but saving on power whenever possible.
The system is said to be effective in fresh, brackish and seawater and is available in capacities from 34 m3/h to 1,500 m3/h in a single unit. It can be supplied skid mounted or in modular form for easier installation in confined areas.
“At an early stage, we opted for UV transmission as the parameter for determining UV dosage. I think it is only a matter of time before this becomes a mandatory requirement and, in this sense, customers who buy an Evac Evolution system are already ahead of the game”, Mr Field opined.
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