Wärtsilä’s UV-based ballast water treatment technology, Aquarius UV, has become the 18th to achieve USCG type-approval and joins Wärtsilä’s Aquarius EC electrolysis/electrochlorination ballast water treatment system on the USCG list.
Aquarius UV has held IMO type-approval since 2011 and has been previously granted AMS status by the USCG, which allows it to be used on ships visiting US waters for an interim period of up to five years from a ship’s specific compliance date or until full USCG type-approval is achieved.
With both its systems having completed USCG testing, Wärtsilä is “in a unique position in helping marine operators to meet international regulatory requirements,” said its BWMS sales director Craig Patrick in a statement to Ballast Water Treatment Technology in July 2018.
In February 2019, it was announced that Eletson Corporation had contracted to have its entire tanker and gas carrier fleet retrofitted from Wärtsilä.
Twenty three product oil, chemical, and LPG carriers of the company’s fleet will be retrofitted with up to 69 Wärtsilä BWMS units, comprising of both Aquarius UV and Aquarius EC systems
Wärtsilä's type-approval was swiftly followed by the third iteration of Alfa Laval’s ballast water treatment technology, PureBallast 3.2, following approval for PureBallast 3.0/3.1.
During type-approval testing, Alfa Laval reported that PureBallast 3 had successfully completed additional tests at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research to verify the biological efficacy of Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 without holding time.
As a result, PureBallast 3 is on target to be the first UV ballast water treatment system with zero holding time in its USCG type-approval for all three water salinities.
Alfa Laval PureBallast’s manager of research and development Peter Sahlén said at the time that “The ability to discharge ballast without holding time in United States waters is an important issue for many customers. PureBallast 3 was the first ballast water treatment system to be revised G8 ready, and the new test results put it on track to be the first UV system with zero holding time under USCG regulations.”
There are now 19 USCG type-approved ballast water treatment systems and another 10 under review (alterations to current systems or new applications), and the rate of progress of approvals suggest all the review systems will achieve USCG type-approval by the end of 2019, which will bring the field to 29 systems in total.
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