RayClean BWTS gets USCG AMS approval

FEBRUARY 4, 2015 — DESMI Ocean Guard A/S, Aalborg, Denmark, reports that its RayClean  Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) has been granted Alternate Management System (AMS) acceptance by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The AMS acceptance covers all salinities ranging from freshwater to marine water. According to DESMI Ocean Guard, this is something that only eight out of 52 issued AMS acceptances have achieved to date.

In addition, the RayClean AMS acceptance contains no limitation with regard to temperature of the water to be treated and covers the wide UV transmission range that the RayClean ballast water management system has been proven capable of dealing with. DESMI Ocean Guard says that this means that the system can treat extremely dirty and unclear water that no other UV system on the market today is approved for.

“In short, the accepted capability of the RayClean system to deal with any kind of water you can expect to encounter in global trade is outstanding and unmatched in the Industry,” the company says.

The development of the RayClean BWTS was based on experience from the development and testing of DESMI’s OxyClean BWTS, the first system in the world to receive the IMO and AMS Approvals in all water salinities. During the development of the RayClean BWTS, the focus has been on developing a system that is simple, will work in all salinities and temperatures, and in the most challenging unclear water conditions. All these challenges above should be met by use of the lowest possible power consumption.

“The general awareness about limitations of type approved ballast water treatment systems is growing amongst shipowners,” says Rasmus Folsø, CEO of DESMI Ocean Guard A/S. “They have realized that the risk associated with having a BWTS on a vessel, which is not approved for treatment of water with low salinity or low temperature, is not acceptable. It can lead to fines, detentions in port and ultimately require installation of a new system.”

The USCG AMS acceptance is an interim acceptance that is valid five years after the date where a given vessel must be equipped with a USCG type approved ballast water treatment system. DESMI Ocean Guard is already working on obtaining a full USCG type approval for the RayClean system. All the required testing has been completed according to both IMO guidelines and USCG requirements, and under the supervision of DNV, which is a USCG recognized independent laboratory.