Marine Link
Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Water Treatment Systems News

16 Feb 2026

Inspection Campaign Identifies System as Main Cause of Ballast Water Treatment Compliance Detentions

Charlène Ceresola, BWT Project Manager and Regulatory expert at BIO-UV Group, says Port State Control (PSC) data show the most serious non-compliances are technical in nature. © BIO-UV Group

Results from last year’s Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on ballast water management has revealed a change in regulatory compliance failures, which now include the actual performance, operation, and maintenance of installed ballast water treatment systems.According to Charlène Ceresola, BWT Project Manager and Regulatory expert at BIO-UV Group, Port State Control (PSC) data show that while documentation and record-keeping issues remain widespread, the most serious non-compliances are technical in nature.“When you look at the total number of compliance failures…

24 Nov 2025

BIO-UV Group Announces New Leadership Appointments

Jean-Philippe Picard de Muller. © BIO-UV Group

France-based BIO-UV Group, a specialist in UV-, ozone-, salt-electrolysis- and AOP-based water-treatment technologies, has announced three senior appointments to support and strengthen the company’s expansion across new and existing markets.The changes include the appointment of Jean-Philippe Picard de Muller as Deputy General Manager of BIO-UV Group, the promotion of Steven Brady to Managing Director of Triogen in the United Kingdom, and the arrival of Patrice Garrigues as European Sales Director for the Group’s pool division.

24 Nov 2025

FMD is on the Acquisition Trail (again)

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) entered into an agreement with IMI plc, to acquire its Birmingham, UK-based Truflo Marine business, a provider of mission-critical valves and actuators.This acquisition will complement FMD’s existing build-to-print capabilities, strengthening its portfolio of high-endurance, severe-duty valves and components. Truflo Marine is located in Birmingham UK and are 270 employees strong. Truflo Marine brings a global presence and specialized expertise that complements FMD’s existing portfolio of engines, motors, valves, ventilation, and water treatment systems.

17 Jul 2025

BIO-UV Group Introduces Compliancy Solution for BIO-SEA Ballast Water Treatment Systems

© BIO-UV Group

Water treatment specialist BIO-UV Group has introduced a new Compliancy & Performance Agreement (C&P Agreement) solution for shipmanagers looking to ensure their BIO-SEA ballast water treatment systems remain regulatory compliant and operationally tip-top.The new service agreement aims to address the challenges ship operators face maintaining regulatory compliance amid increasingly stringent ballast water management inspection regimes and operational demands on ship crews.With over 30% of vessels failing D-2 compliance tests despite having installed type-approved systems…

08 May 2025

Geographical Gaps Limit Ballast Water Research

© MSCT / Adobe Stock

The US Coast Guard’s Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance recently released its U.S. Port State Control Annual Report for 2024 highlighting a 200% increase in untreated ballast water discharges compared to 2023.With this result, there’s still a risk of invasive species arriving in ballast water. And a review of research into the organisms found in ballast water published in March highlights just how limited current knowledge is.The study found that 53.5% of the sampling effort of in-situ ballast water has been concentrated in North America…

13 Jan 2025

Fairbanks Morse wins POs from Austal USA

Tagos 25 (c) Fairbanks Morse

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has received POs from Austal USA to provide critical equipment for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation TAGOS-25 program.Through Fairbanks Morse Defense businesses American Fan, Federal Equipment Company (FEC), Maxim Watermakers, and Welin Lambie, the defense supplier will deliver and install fundamental systems for TAGOS-25’s oceanic surveillance ships.The TAGOS-25 ocean surveillance ships are designed to support U.S.

09 Dec 2024

FMC Closes One Investigation into Conditions Created by Canadian Ballast Water Regulations

The Federal Maritime Commission is closing one of its two investigations of how Canadian ballast water regulations impact shipping in the Great Lakes, but the remaining investigation will continue to permit the agency to assess if Canadian government policies create unfavorable conditions affecting U.S. flagged vessels operating in the U.S.-Canada trade.The Commission published Notice in the Federal Register that it is closing its Investigation into Conditions Affecting United…

12 Nov 2024

Erma First Acquires Ecochlor

Eleni Polychronopoulou courtesy of Erma First Group

The Erma First Group has completed the acquisition of Ecochlor, broadening its range of ballast water treatment systems (BWTS), future-proof decarbonisation solutions and related services.The acquisition consolidates the company’s status as one of the world’s largest BWTS providers.Ecochlor’s BWTS portfolio comprises a filtration- and ClO2-based system and two versions of the EcoOne™ solution. The first is a filterless system that uses ClO2 alone and consumes just 10–20 kilowatts of power even at very-high flow rates.

15 Oct 2024

Mr. Marine Names Laarhuis CEO

Charles Laarhuis (Photo: Mr. Marine)

Mr. Marine announced it has appointed Charles Laarhuis as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective October 15. Laarhuis succeeds Karel Peters in leading the global operations of the testing, inspection and certification (TIC)organization.With a robust background in the maritime and oil & gas sectors, Laarhuis brings a wealth of experience to Mr. Marine. After several years at sea as a marine engineer, Laarhuis transitioned to shore-based leadership roles in the TIC and classification fields, overseeing operations across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

17 Sep 2024

Alfa Laval Wins Order for 18 BWMS Replacements

(Image: Alfa Laval)

Alfa Laval reports it has received an order to replace 18 ballast water treatment systems (BWMS) onboard vessels belonging to a major European shipowner. Over the past two years, Alfa Laval has replaced more than 250 systems from 30 different manufacturers, and the orderbook for replacement continues to grow.“With the consolidation of the BWMS market, we see a growing need for replacing installed BWMS systems,” said Tobias Doescher, Head of Global Sales, Business Development and Marketing, Alfa Laval PureBallast.

10 Sep 2024

Vessel Ballast Water Management: Getting the Numbers Right

Ballast water sample. Image courtesy SGS.

It was never going to be realistic to expect treated ballast water to have zero viable organisms on discharge.The G8 guidelines that define the type approval process for ballast water treatment systems were initially agreed at the IMO before any systems had actually been developed.The IMO had already been working on the issue of invasive species being transferred around the world in ballast water for a couple of decades. It was on the radar back in the 1970s. At MEPC 31 in 1991…

21 Aug 2024

Ballast Water Technology: Getting the Numbers Right

Ballast water sampling.
Image courtesy of SGS

It was never going to be realistic to expect treated ballast water to have zero viable organisms on discharge.The G8 guidelines that define the type approval process for ballast water treatment systems were initially agreed at the IMO before any systems had actually been developed.The IMO had already been working on the issue of invasive species being transferred around the world in ballast water for a couple of decades. It was on the radar back in the 1970s. At MEPC 31 in 1991…

06 Jun 2024

Uptick in Ballast Water Treatment System Inspections Expected

© MagioreStockStudio / Adobe Stock

With the final ballast water deadline fast approaching, UV-based water treatment specialist BIO-UV Group said it anticipates an increase in inspections as Port State Control (PSC) inspectors check machinery installations, crew competencies and Ballast Water Management (BWM) Plans.From September this year, all vessels subject to the BWM Convention must have installed a D-2 compliant ballast water treatment system capable of dealing with the maximum number of viable organisms allowed to be discharged.

30 Apr 2024

Bio-Sea Ballast Water Treatment for Siem Car Carrier Trio

SIEM Car Carriers’ Siem Copernicus is one of three PCCs to be retrofitted with a B02 BIO-SEA BWTS. Siem Copernicus courtesy SIEM Ship Management.

BIO-UV Group has received an order from SIEM Ship Management to supply its BIO-SEA Ballast Water Treatment Systems for a trio of SIEM-managed car carriers. The order, for retrofit installation to the Siem Copernicus, Siem Curie and Siem Socrates, is the latest in a series of deliveries of BIO-SEA B-Series equipment for installation onboard around a dozen SIEM Ship Management reefer vessels since 2021.In this latest order, BIO-UV Group’s maritime division will provide B02 BIO-SEA BWTS units with a medium to high flow rate of 300-cu.m.

16 Apr 2024

Optimarin Acquires Hyde Marine Business from De Nora

Optimarin CEO Tore Svanheld (Photo: Optimarin)

Optimarin AS, a Norwegian supplier of ballast water treatment systems (BWTS), announced it has agreed to acquire the Hyde Marine UV business from the Italian multinational Industrie De Nora S.p.A.

10 Apr 2024

Carnival Corporation Progresses its Sustainability Goals

© NAN / Adobe Stock

Carnival Corporation has released its 14th annual sustainability report detailing how it achieved several 2030 environmental goals well in advance.The company is producing 10+% less absolute GHG emissions today than in 2011, its peak historical year, despite increasing capacity by roughly 30% since that time. Tracking toward its 2030 goal four years ahead of schedule, the company formally committed to reducing its GHG intensity by at least 20% by 2026 (versus 2019 levels; measured on a lower berth capacity basis).

23 Jan 2024

Aiming for Zero Waste Discharge to Sea

Wärtsilä’s MBR technology produces compliant effluent samples to the highest standards. Image courtesy Wärtsilä

Advanced water treatment systems are just the start of the cruise industry’s circular waste processing ambitions.Advanced wastewater treatment systems (AWTS) were revolutionary in their day. Indeed, they still are today, but with 77% of the CLIA fleet (202 ships) already using them, and another 40 specified for vessels on order, even more ambitious waste management is coming.Martin Shutler, Principal Engineer, Product Development, at Wärtsilä Water and Waste, notes that in recent…

02 Jan 2024

Performance Shipping Orders Two LR2 Tankers

© liren / Adobe Stock

Greek shipowner Performance Shipping Inc. announced it has signed two shipbuilding contracts with China Shipbuilding Trading Co. Ltd. (CSTC) and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (SWS) for the construction of two 114,000 DWT LNG-ready LR2 Aframax product/crude oil tanker vessels.The newbuilds, expected to be delivered in January and April of 2026, were ordered at a purchase price of US$64,845,000 per vessel, net of third-party commission. 15% of the purchase price is payable upon receipt of a refund guarantee…

02 Nov 2023

BIO-UV to Deliver Ballast Water Treatment System for Drillship Pair

Credit: BIO-UV

BIO-UV Group said Thursday it had received a major order to supply its BIO-SEA ballast water treatment system to a pair of drillships scheduled to enter an undisclosed operator’s offshore drilling rig fleet.According to BIO-UV, a modular version from the BIO-SEA B-Series, combining mechanical  filtration and UV disinfection, has been ordered by a United Arab Emirates-based offshore drilling contractor, a returning customer for BIO-UV Group, and will be installed on the vessels…

12 Oct 2023

BIO-UV Group Answers the Call for Compact BWTS with 'Smallest' UV BWTS Yet

Credit:BIO-UV Group

UV-based water treatment specialist BIO-UV Group has introduced what it says is arguably the smallest UV BWTS in the marketplace, targeted at meeting increased demand for ballast water treatment systems from operators of workboats, yachts, research ships, OSVs, and similar-sized vessels. The new BIO-SEA L01-0030 Mini – more compact than the company’s existing low-flow BIO-SEA L range – is a fully automated filtration + UV-based system designed to treat ballast water flow rates…

03 Aug 2023

CMA CGM Settles with US EPA over Alleged Dumping Violations

© Mariusz / Adobe Stock

France-based CMA CGM, the world’s third largest shipping container company, will pay $165,000 in penalties as part of its settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over claims of violations of EPA’s Vessel General Permit issued under the Clean Water Act. “The Vessel General Permit is a key element of the Clean Water Act. When companies and their ships don’t comply with this permit, the quality of our nation’s already-challenged waters can be seriously impacted,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman.

18 Jul 2023

Op/Ed: Technology Manufacturers’ Input More Critical than ever for Effective Maritime Regulations

Dr Stelios Kyriacou, Chief Technology Officer, ERMA FIRST

Next year marks a crucial milestone for the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, with all ships required to meet the D2 standard for ballast water management by 8 September 2024. D2 specifies the maximum number of viable organisms allowed to be discharged. In most cases, it requires the installation of a ballast water management system (BWMS) on board the vessel.2024 will be a pivotal moment for the ballast water market and while it is true that the retrofit market will diminish and leave behind only a small newbuild market…

05 Jul 2023

Yang Ming Orders Five New Box Ships

© carol_anne / Adobe Stock

Taiwanese container shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. announced it has ordered five liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel containerships from South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. The 15,500 TEU newbuilds are scheduled to be delivered in 2026. Each will be equipped with high-pressure LNG dual fuel main engines and ballast water treatment systems. In addition, the vessels will feature an advanced integrated system for navigational information and operation monitoring…