Tougher sewage treatment standards

IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee adopted revised guidelines on effluent standards and performance tests for sewage treatment plant in October 2006. These new MEPC 159(55) guidelines will supersede the existing MEPC 2(VI) guidelines adopted in 1976, and specify tougher standards for all effluent quality parameters. The revised Marpol Annex IV related guidelines apply to equipment installed on existing ships on or after 1 January 2010 and new ships whose keels are laid on or after this date (see also page 163).

Existing MEPC 2(VI) sewage treatment plants do not conform to the new guidelines, so Hamworthy has developed enhancements to ensure that they do, resulting in its new Super Trident ST-C series. The Hamworthy Super Trident sewage treatment plant is fully compatible with gravity and vacuum collection systems. It operates on the activated sludge/suspended aeration system, accelerating natural biological processes to produce a clean and safe effluent suitable for discharging at sea.

Hamworthy is one of the first companies to receive type approval for sewage treatment plant that conforms to new standards. The company received both EC Marine Equipment Directive (‘Wheelmark’) certification from the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency and type-approval certification from Lloyd’s Register for the new ST-C sewage treatment plant series. As part of the type-approval process, land-based prototype testing over a period of eight months in Poole, England, was overseen by Lloyd’s Register. MP