Three more containerships to have Wärtsilä BWMS

MAY 27, 2015 — Three new containerships being built for a major European shipping company at the Jinhai Shipyard in China will be fitted with Wärtsilä Aquarius UV Ballast Water Management Systems (BWMS).
Wärtsilä will deliver the BWMS equipment to the first vessel at the end of 2015, and for the other two ships during 2016.

This latest contract follows an order last year from the same company that saw Wärtsilä BWMS equipment installed into three 2,100 TEU containerships built in Asia.

Each of the three latest lvessels will be fitted with a 500 cu.m capacity Wärtsilä Aquarius UV BWMS. This system utilizes a two-stage approach involving filtration and medium pressure UV disinfection technology.

Wärtsilä has already obtained IMO Type Approval and Alternate Management System (AMS) acceptance from the U.S. Coastguard (USCG) for this system, and work to achieve full USCG Type Approval for all products in the Aquarius BWMS range commenced early in 2014.

“Ballast water management is an important feature of the overall emphasis on environmentally sustainable shipping,” says Lars Bo Kirkegaard, General Manager, BWMS Sales, Wärtsilä Ship Power. “Wärtsilä has always paid great attention to working in close cooperation with the customer to ensure that the selected system is appropriate for the ship and its operating profile, and this has been the case here as well. We have enjoyed working closely with the owners and with the Jinhai Shipyard, and have received excellent support in planning this project.”

Ballast water was a hotly debated topic at the recent MEPC 68 meeting in London as the industry  awaits ratification of the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Ballast Water Convention. Several states, including Argentina, India, Belgium and Indonesia, have declared that they are in the process of ratifying this legislation. The IMO Secretary General has reiterated that, as the barriers to ratification are being discussed and answers developed, the Ballast Water Convention should be ratified before the end of this year.