USCG approval for bilge water system
The Senitec sludge and bilge water treatment system of Wärtsilä has received US Coast Guard (USCG) Type Approval. Tests have confirmed the system's ability to remove oil in water levels to well below required by the International Maritime Organisation.
Rigorous testing carried out by the USCG-approved SGS Institute Fresenius in Germany, one of Europe's leading providers of non-medical laboratory analysis, confirmed effluent discharges of less than one parts per million (ppm), states Wärtsilä. The requirement by International Maritime organization is 15 ppm.
While Wärtsilä received the Bureau Veritas Type Approval last year and intends soon to apply for ABS certification, a US Coast Guard certificate means the American market is now fully open for Wärtsilä to promote the Senitec system. The Senitec sludge and bilge water treatment system has already been installed in 80 different applications, 40 of which are marine-related.
USCG Type Approval tests are widely considered to be the most stringent and are therefore considered as being the most valuable Type Approval certificate to hold. The trials are more extensive than others, and include assessments of a system's robustness, while the electrical and electronic systems are tested at peak frequencies for four continuous hours, far in excess of other approval trials.
Under the supervision of SGS Institute personnel, two Senitec units were installed at the Wärtsilä Sweden facility to facilitate testing of a range of capacities. A 500 to 1000 litre/h capacity unit, and a larger 1500 to 2500 litre/h capacity system, were both tested over a seventy-hour period. As per Wärtsilä tilting of the units, to simulate a vessel listing at a 22.5 degree angle, also produced results below 1ppm. In fact, even before the oily water passed through the unit's fourth stage activated carbon filtration process, the effluent discharged was only 3 ppm, still lower than the 5 ppm limit required of vessels operating in environmentally sensitive areas.
