BIO-UV Group advances towards U.S. Navy compliance for BWTS

BIO-UV Group shipped a second BIO-SEA ballast water treatment unit to the United States for trials to assess the technology’s capability for use onboard U.S. Navy vessels.

An M series BIO-SEA system will undergo the same testing as the compact BIO-SEA B series unit supplied to BIO-UV Group’s U.S.-based partner, The Columbia Group (TCG). TCG was awarded a contract in 2021 to develop a ruggedized version of the BIO-SEA U.S. Coast Guard-approved UV-based Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS). The program has been developed to meet a U.S. Government requirement to provide U.S. Navy vessels with a suitable ballast water treatment option.

The tailor-made compact BIO-SEA B unit is a robust, filtration and UV-based BWTS capable of dealing with flow rates up to 300 cu. m./hr. The larger M10 system has been designed to treat flow rates of up to 1,000 cu. m./hr. 

The BIO-SEA M Series, specially designed for the U.S. Navy, completed Factory Acceptance Tests last April at BIO-UV Group’s production facility in Lunel, France. 

Meanwhile, the BIO-SEA B unit, installed for evaluation in February 2024, was tested pier-side on a logistics vessel, completing over 500 hours of ballasting/deballasting operations. The B unit is now undergoing land-based electromagnetic interference testing to verify compatibility with U.S. military standards. The BWTS will then be subject to extensive vibration and shock testing.

This development marks the first step toward verifying compliance with military standards, opening the door to a new ballast water treatment market for BIO-UV Group. It is also representative of the successful partnership with TCG in developing custom-made, military-grade BWTS.