3GA Marine, Alfa Laval Partner for BWTS Retrofits

Naval architecture and marine engineering company 3GA Marine Ltd has teamed up with marine technologies company Alfa Laval to provide engineered turnkey solutions to support ship owners in their response to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) ballast water management regulations.

“The retrofitting of ballast water treatment systems in existing vessels is challenging because of their size and required capacity to maintain ballast operations. It can also prove to be complex in integrating the system with existing systems and congested machinery room spaces,” explained David Stocks, president of British Columbia based 3GA Marine. “3GA utilize 3D laser scanning and modeling technology to gain accurate representation of as-built structures and surrounding systems which significantly reduces refit project risk.”

3GA has entered into a partnering agreement with ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) supplier Alfa Laval, and have qualified as a engineering partner under the manufacturer’s worldwide supplier network

Alfa Laval’s PureBallast BWTS is one of the few systems with both IMO and U.S. Coast Guard type approval.

Working together with Alfa Laval, 3GA provides the 3D scanning technology, system survey and modeling data, marine systems engineering, structural engineering and naval architectural services that are required to determine the feasibility of retrofitting a BWTS; detailed design for installation of the system that integrates with existing ship structure and piping and an oversight of the installation in a commissioning representative and site engineering role.

According to Dan McIntyre, 3GA’s principal marine engineer and scanning lead, “This collaboration of at ship naval architecture and marine engineering will allow for the integration of IMO and USCG approved Alfa Laval PureBallast systems to be managed in an efficient and accurate manner. It will minimize ship down time and reduce project risk while ensuring that vessel design records are accurate and that ballast management is efficient and compliant with regulations.”