Bilge water system receives USCG approval

Wärtsilä’s Senitec sludge and bilge water treatment system has received US Coast Guard (USCG) Type Approval. Tests have confirmed the system’s ability to remove oil in water levels to well below required by the IMO.

Rigorous testing carried out by the USCG-approved SGS Institute Fresenius in Germany, one of Europe’s leading providers of non-medical laboratory analysis, confirmed effluent discharges of less than 1 parts per million (ppm) The requirement by IMO is 15 ppm.

While Wärtsilä received the Bureau Veritas Type Approval last year and intends soon to apply for ABS certification, a USCG means the American market is now fully open for Wärtsilä to promote the Senitec system. The Senitec sludge and bilge water treatment system has already been installed in 80 different applications, 40 of which are marine-related.

“It is a very hard test, and the Senitec system came through it with flying colours,” says Magnus Gripenwald, Wärtsilä Senitec project manager, who oversaw the tests. “Even when using an emulsified concoction of heavy fuel oil, diesel, iron oxides and detergent, the outcome was the same. Furthermore, we have found that efficiency does not reduce, even after years of running the system. This is a contribution to the environment.”

Dr Ulrich Hilverkus, the SGS Institute Fresenius official who conducted the tests on behalf of the USCG, confirmed the performance of the system. “The tests were performed successfully with all oil content measurement results being less than 1 ppm. The equipment as tested therefore meets and exceeds the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) 107 (49) requirements.”

USCG Type Approval tests are widely considered to be the most stringent, and are therefore considered as being the most valuable Type Approval certificate to hold. The trials are more extensive than others, and include assessments of a system’s robustness, while the electrical and electronic systems are tested at peak frequencies for four continuous hours, far in excess of other approval trials.