Danish ballast water management system (BWMS) provider is now offering free engineering for owners choosing to replace an inefficient or failed BWMS with the DESMI CompactClean solution
“We often hear about issues with older BWMS on ships,” said DESMI Ocean Guard sales director Christian Busch. “Some of them do not comply with the rules defined by the US Coast Guard or IMO.”
“Some shipowners have installed BWMS, expecting the systems would receive approval, only to discover they did not actually get it. Other systems do not perform according to the customer’s expectations, or they are unreliable.”
He added, “And when you want to do something about it, the manufacturer may have gone out of business making it difficult or impossible to keep your system running.”
DESMI pointed out the consequences of non-compliance or breakdowns are severe – fines for the discharge of non-compliant ballast water, being unable to discharge ballast water in the port and being unable to take new cargo on board.
Under the solution on offer, DESMI Ocean Guard includes all necessary engineering work. This includes all the drawings, diagrams and other information needed for the preferred shipyard to carry out the replacement and make it work on the ship.
Almost all BWMS can be switched out, “We have years of experience with UV and filtration systems,” explained DESMI Ocean Guard chief executive Rasmus Folsø.
“In most cases, an existing inline UV system with filtration can quickly be replaced with a CompactClean solution because the footprint of the CompactClean is very small, and because we can usually adapt pipework and wiring as required.
He added, “Chemical dosing systems or slipstream solutions are often more complex, and in such cases, we do not always include all engineering. But our experience shows replacing a UV system is often a relatively simple process.”
Even if an existing BWMS can be upgraded for compliance, this is not always the best strategy, suggested Mr Busch. “Some existing systems can be upgraded, but I have heard of cases where the upgrade costs are higher than the price of a new CompactClean system.”
Mr Busch concluded, “And now we are including engineering for most replacement projects, selecting CompactClean is an even more cost-effective way of ensuring compliance with the BWM Convention.”
Are you looking to replace or upgrade BWMS? Register here to attend the Ballast Water Webinar Week 31 January to 2 February 2023.
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