Mobile BWT unit is unveiled

The new in-house technology bolsters Netherlands-based Damen’s Ballast Water Centre of Excellence, which advises fleet managers on total BWT solutions for retrofits and newbuilds worldwide.
Developed in-house, the fully containerised, mobile Damen InvaSave BWT unit provides shipowners with a cost-effective alternative to retrofitting fixed BWT systems, according to Damen. The group has also developed what it says is the world’s first mobile treatment vessel to operate in ports and support ship deballasting operations. The first of these customised Damen barges, fitted with Damen InvaSave units, is now under construction for service in the Dutch ports of Eemshaven and Delfzijl. One of the most important financial partners in this project is the Waddenfonds, an organisation dedicated to protecting the Wadden Sea, an intertidal zone in the south-eastern part of the North Sea that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Gert Jan Oude Egberink, BWT manager at Damen, commented: “We've been looking into what we can do to help our customers regarding ballast water treatment and finding alternatives for owners that may not want to retrofit a ballast water treatment system, perhaps because their ships operate on fixed routes or are too old, making investment in a system prohibitively expensive. Ports may also need to provide back-up in case a ship’s onboard treatment systems fail.”
As well as avoiding considerable retrofit investments, Damen says, the mobile solution means ballast water only needs treating at the point of discharge, in contrast to fixed onboard BWT installations that also have to treat ballast water at intake. Damen can deliver the system as a separate mobile container, which can be put on board or moved around the port on a truck. Each Damen InvaSave container unit handles 300m³/h – easy to scale up if needed by using multiple container units, according to Damen. The group says the system has been successfully tested in the challenging waters of the Wadden Sea and IJsselmeer in the Netherlands and is currently being certified by the Dutch Flag State.
“This is all in-house technology and is very simple to use – essentially it’s a plug-and-play system in one container,” Oude Egberink remarked. “Vessels only need to have a deck connection. Using this mobile treatment unit, owners and operators will be fully compliant with both IMO and US regulations.”
In addition to having its own mobile BWT system, Damen can advise on type-approved BWT systems for onboard retrofitting, as well as retrofit engineering and installation. Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has 16 repair and conversion yard facilities, with 40 dry docks worldwide. Damen says it can do the onboard survey, 3D scans, onsite surveying and pre-engineering, the integration plan, purchasing, manufacture the piping, make all the preparations, do the installation and commissioning, carry out the trials, plus provide training and supply the BW management plan.
“If vessels come in for their special survey when the system has to be installed, we can do both things at once, providing a turnkey solution,” Oude Egberink said. “We can install Damen selected technology or our customer’s choice of unit at a Damen or non-Damen yard – or afloat."