Wärtsilä's AQUARIUS® UV Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) has been granted Type Approval in accordance with the 2004 IMO Convention.
This approval endorses Wärtsilä’s BWMS market entry and provides ship owners with greater cost effective BWMS technology choice and installation flexibility through its modular design and approach.
Wärtsilä AQUARIUS® UV BWMS is the first system to have been fully endorsed and type approved by the Flag Administration of the Netherlands and is the result of a focused development program which commenced in 2010.The AQUARIUS® range of BWMS became part of the Wärtsilä portfolio with the acquisition of Hamworthy plc in January 2012 and further reaffirms the company's commitment to develop environmental solutions for the marine industry. Compliance with the IMO Ballast Water Convention helps protect local ecosystems from the spread of harmful invasive species and gives operational peace of mind to the ship owner operators.
The Wärtsilä AQUARIUS® UV BWMS is based on a two stage treatment process using proven and validated system components. Upon uptake, seawater is first passed through a back washing screen type filter. The filtered seawater then passes through a UV chamber where ultra-violet light is used to disinfect the water before entering the ballast tank. On discharge, water from the ballast tank is pumped through the UV chamber for a second time to complete the disinfection process prior to discharge. The filter is not used during discharge.
The modular approach provides maximum flexibility during system design and installation where key components are positioned to suit available space, a major advantage when considering retrofit projects. Retrofit installations can be carried out either during dry docking, at the quayside or whilst the ship is in operation, thus minimising any impact on ship downtime.