Wärtsilä has received the Final Approval status from the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) for its Wärtsilä Aquarius EC Ballast Water Management System.
The approval was granted at the MEPC's 65th session held at the IMO headquarters in London on 13th May 2013. The Basic Approval had been granted in October 2012.
The approval submission was taken into consideration as part of the MEPC 65's agenda covering "harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water". Final Approval is required for systems using an active substance, and is based upon examination of full scale prototype test data and all required supporting documentation on aspects such as risk and safety to the ship, crew, general public, and the environment.
Impact on Coated and Uncoated Materials
The documented information was reviewed and approved by a joint panel of experts from the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environment Protection ballast water working group. The application was submitted to the IMO by the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate. A key element of the Final Approval submission was an investigation covering the impact of treated ballast water on coated and uncoated materials.
A full Type Approval certificate for the Aquarius system is expected by end of July this year.
The Aquarius EC System
The Aquarius EC is a modular ballast water management system, providing a safe, flexible and economical process for the treatment of ballast water.
Ballast water treatment is achieved through a simple and efficient two stage process. Upon uptake the sea water is first passed through a back washing filter (1st stage) and then the filtered sea water passes through a static mixer, where the disinfectant generated from the side stream electrolysis unit (2nd stage) is injected to ensure a maximum level of 10 parts per million (ppm) in the treated ballast water.
During discharge the filter is bypassed and any residual oxidant in treated ballast water is monitored before being discharged overboard. If required, treated ballast water is neutralised by injecting sodium bisulfite into the main ballast line during discharge. Neutralisation effectiveness is continuously monitored to ensure compliance with Marpol discharge limits.
