BWT manufacturing market is big enough
The industry is warming to the idea of the implementation of the ballast water management convention after IMO has agreed to adjust the implementation schedule. All vessels constructed before the entry into force date are now considered ‘existing’ vessels and allowed to install a treatment system at the first renewal survey following entry into force.
This raises the question of whether there will be enough systems available if the tonnage requirements are met soon. Dr Robert Hilliard, managing principal at Intermarine Consulting in Australia, points out that when Lloyd’s Register released its first technology guide in 2008, the lclass society identified 28 vendors. This increased to 41 in 2010 and 67 in 2012.
“I haven’t seen anything radically new in the market, but there have been advances in vendor understanding of the operational limitations of their particular units. This has driven incremental improvements in unit efficiency, serviceability and performance envelope. Apart from their efforts to get units onto new or existing ships, most vendors have been focussed on making step-change upgrades to their original units and getting USCG certification as alternative systems.”
More challenging testing has been undertaken to help widen the original IMO test regime regarding salinity range, plankton/suspended solid load and time that treated water is stored. “Improving the range, quality and transparency of the tests and results helps satisfy market concerns,” says Dr Hilliard.
Jad Mouawad, owner of Mouawad Consulting, was contracted by the Canadian Government to look into technologies suitable for the fresh, cold water of the Great Lakes. His study did not consider energy consumption, footprint, etc, but just physics and chemistry and whether the systems had appropriate approvals. He concluded that there were 16 type approved UV systems and 12 side stream electrolysis systems that would be suitable.
Globally, the market is meeting supply and demand of treatment systems for newbuilding, says Mr Mouawad. “In China, we see a rise in the number of systems. They are usually very similar to other systems in the market and amazingly cheap in price. The manufacturers seem to have understood the rules of the game though, so they go for the highest type approval quality they can get with DNV. I believe the makers will now be able to supply the market with the numbers needed.” Recent Chinese entrants to the market include Jiujiang Precision Measuring Technology Research Institute and Elite Marine Equipment & Engineering.
Andrea Gao, manager of Ballast Water Treatment System Intelligence, a dedicated consultancy in China, says there is no clear connection between suitable treatment system type and vessel type. “Ballast water characteristics such as turbidity, salinity and silt content can impact the efficacy, maintenance or reliability of some ballast water treatment technologies,” says Mr Gao. “Systems using filtration, separation and UV radiation are sized for the maximum flow rate in the ballast system. The efficacies of chemical biocides and deoxygenation systems, however, do not depend so much on the flow rate of the pumps because a certain concentration in the water in the ballast tanks is more important.”
Therefore, it is more pertinent to distinguish between high and low ballast ships. Mr Gao provides recommendations to shipowners on the most suitable system for a targeted business environment.
