First Ballast Water Port Solution Completes Tests
Successful shipboard testing has shown that Damen Green Solutions’ InvaSave mobile ballast water treatment solution is capable of providing an IMO type approved backup in a port in the event of a failure in a vessel’s on board treatment systems to uptake or discharge ballast water. The BWT solution can even serve as a port-based alternative for those ship owners that may not want to retrofit an onboard treatment system or be deployed in a port with a sudden outbreak of marine pests.
The testing was completed onboard the containership Henrike Schepers, during which ballast water was taken in untreated and the efficacy of the technology was validated upon discharge. The results of the InvaSave test meet the D2-Standard of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention on all aspects, including the test series conducted with the high sediment waters of the River Hull and the River Thames, U.K. All testing was conducted by MEA-nl, with test protocols in line with IMO BWMC test guidelines and additional requirements of the Dutch flag state.
“More and more countries are ratifying the IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC) and it could enter into force in 2017; in any case, it is only a matter of time,” said Damen Green Solutions Product Manager Matthijs Schuiten. “Damen is cooperating with the service providers in the ports to provide this ballast water treatment service. This is also relevant for all port authorities, who could face congestion problems if they don’t have a contingency/emergency service in place.”
Groningen Seaports is the first port to provide this ballast water treatment service. “Our location on the Wadden Sea means that we have a responsibility to push forward the progress of sustainable shipping,” said Groningen Seaports Sustainability Coordinator Bart van der Kolk. “We are fully prepared for the ratification of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the effort of some frontrunners like Royal Wagenborg, Van Gansewinkel, Imares, MEA-nl and Damen.”
Damen can deliver the InvaSave technology in a self-sufficient mobile container, which can be put onboard a service barge or moved around the port on a trailer or a pontoon. The system uses innovative filtering and UV technology and does not contain chemicals or hazardous substances. The system is robust, and works under all relevant circumstances, regardless of the composition of the ballast water, Damen said.
IMO type approval is expected to be obtained 2016, and a patent is pending.