OceanSaver announced that Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC) has ordered ballast water management (BWM) systems for six VLCCs thus lifting the company’s order book to approximately $44.6m.
The DSIC VLCC contract follows recent OceanSaver BWM system orders with Hyundai Heavy Industries for two high-spec Suezmax crude-oil tankers and six VLCCs at the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Company in China. To date, OceanSaver has won BWM system contracts for 17 vessels – all of them large tankers.
As of July 8th this year, 26 (25% of the world’s tonnage) of 30 possible flag states have ratified the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments adopted in 2004. The convention mandates all ships carrying ballast water to meet the Ballast Water performance standard by the year 2016.
OceanSaver BWM system meets one of the strictest and most complex compliance procedures of the International Maritime Organisation and other approval authorities. In addition, it has the potential to meet the California Performance Standards, governing ballast water management requirements for vessels over 300 gross registered tons.
OceanSaver has clearly defined goals which include being the leading BWM system supplier within the large tonnage segment. Large vessels represent approximately 20% of the total number of ships worldwide and the operational demands of large ships stretch the ballasting and de-ballasting capacity of most BWM systems in the market. The challenge for traditional water treatment technologies is to adapt to the shipboard environment with its very high flow and low-pressure pumps, limited space and harsh conditions such as vibrations, pitching and rolling.