Fednav to fit BWTS in twelve laker newbuilds

APRIL 15, 2015 — Montreal, Quebec, headquartered Fednav Limited has ordered 12 BallastAce ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) for 12 lakers it currently has under construction at Japan’s Oshima Shipbuilding.

The order makes Fednav, the largest Canadian operator of international ships in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system, the first shipping company in Canada and the Great Lakes to announce the installation of ballast water treatment systems, well before the regulatory requirement.

“Our company is committed to stimulating trade and enhancing Canada’s economy while protecting the Great Lakes against the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species,” said Paul Pathy, President and Co-CEO of Fednav Limited. “After extensive analysis and testing, we are confident that the technology we are choosing is an affordable and effective means to ensure that Canada meets its ballast water requirements. We are proud to be leading the way, along with government and industry partners, in establishing a level playing field for the Canadian, U.S., and international fleets to operate together in the Great Lakes region.”

Developed by JFE Engineering Corporation, Japan, the BallastAce system operates through a filter and sodium hypochlorite injection mechanism and will be effective in both fresh and salt water.

Fednav says it chose the BallastAce solution after years of testing.

“From the Federal Yukon (copper ions) to the Federal Welland (electrodialytic disinfectant) to the Federal Venture (chlorination),” says Fednav, “the company has spent millions of dollars over many years to find a reliable, effective, and economical solution to the environmental problems caused by aquatic invasive species”

.JFE Engineering will install the first of the 12 systems in the Federal Biscay, delivering in October 2015. Consequently, Fednav may well be able to introduce BallastAce to the Great Lakes at the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 2016.

The BallastAce already has U.S. Coast AMS acceptance and with Fednav’s encouragement, JFE Engineering is now pursuing full U.S. type approval for freshwater and saltwater certification at the GSI and MERC test facilities in Superior, WI, and Baltimore, MD.

The IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention, to which Canada is a signatory, will most likely enter into force in 2016, the year the U.S. Coast Guard and EPA require the installation of ballast water management systems on ships trading in U.S. waters.