Bawat of Denmark’s waste-heat ballast water treatment system has been awarded USCG type-approval. The heat pasteurisation system is a one-pass treatment and does not use chemicals, filters and UV lamps
Bawat’s ballast water treatment system, which uses waste heat from the ship’s boilers and engines, has been awarded US Coast Guard (USCG) type-approval. The awarding of the USCG type-approval is a significant step for the company.
Bawat’s chief executive Marcus Hummer said “We are extremely pleased to have been awarded type-approval by the US Coast Guard which has one of the toughest approval processes,” adding that the type-approval is proof that its unique system using waste heat really works.
“Most shipowners seek cost-effective systems that have both IMO type-approval and the more stringent US Coast Guard type-approval to gain the reassurance that the technology works and their vessels can remain compliant of both international as well as local rules. A vessel without US Coast Guard type-approval, even if not operating in US waters immediately, will certainly lack future flexibility to do so”.
The Bawat system was awarded type-approval according the updated standards set by IMO in late 2019 making it now one of only a handful that have both approvals. The Bawat technology is also unique in that there are no filters which need cleaning, there are no UV bulbs, and there are no active substances or other chemicals to be stored and handled on board.
Bawat also claim that this is the only treatment technology that works with only a single straight-forward pass of the ballast water through the system.
For vessels on time-sensitive operational profiles, this is an important factor as it gives ship operators the flexibility to treat the ballast water when it suits during the vessel’s voyage. Other systems on the market require the ballast water to be treated either during loading or discharge, or both, potentially influencing port stay times.
Mr Hummer points out that the technology is highly cost-effective in that it is designed to use a ship’s own waste heat to pasteurise the ballast water rather than relying on vast amounts of electricity to be generated on board. “Our system really is unique. It uses excess heat from the ship’s engine cooling water or other excess heating sources on board to create the heat needed to pasteurise the ballast water and kill off anything in it. The Bawat system is not only truly green but also offers almost zero operating costs. All other systems require vessels to generate additional power, thus having high operational costs,” he said.
Bawat’s managing director also commented that he is convinced the fully type-approved system will be a winner for ships’ crews as well as shipowners with not only its ease of use, but its design that uses only tried and tested marine components that shipboard personnel will likely have experience of, making maintenance straight forward.
Bawat recently shipped a containerised version of its ballast water treatment system to a port in Belgium.
Ballast water treatment does not stop with compliance. Industry’s stakeholders discuss the issues in the Ballast Water Treatment Beyond Compliance webinar, which is now available to view.
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