Wärtsilä’s Aquarius UV Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) has successfully completed verification testing for explosion proof (EX) requirements.
DEKRA, a Notified Body in Germany, handled the verification. The Aquarius UV BWMS range is now EX certified for Zone 1 hazardous area operation in marine and offshore installations.
It is an IMO requirement that the BWMS for ships having hazardous areas onboard must be EX proof certified. Wärtsilä has taken a systems approach to the EX validation process and the complete Aquarius UV BWMS module, not only electrical components, making it compliant with the EX and IMO regulations. This approach improves accessibility, as the modular design allows some system components to be located outside the hazardous area, thereby increasing the availability and maintainability of the whole system.
Wärtsilä Aquarius UV
The system comprises a modular BWMS utilising a two stage approach involving filtration and medium pressure UV disinfection technology. The Aquarius UV BWMS completed land based testing in 2011 at the NIOZ test facility in the Netherlands.
Ship-Based Trials
Ship-based trials were completed on a Dutch flagged 2000 dwt chemical tanker, and were carried out by the independent consultants, GoConsult, and witnessed by Lloyd’s Register.
The trials involved testing in both salt and fresh water environments to demonstrate compliance over a wider range of operating conditions. The results consistently met or exceeded the IMO D2 discharge standard.
The system received IMO Type Approval in December 2012 and US Coastguard AMS acceptance in October 2013.
