(With video and extra pictures) Damen Shipyards Group will unveil a new mobile ballast water treatment (BWT) unit at the Posidonia exhibition in Athens next week.
Developed in-house, the fully containerised, mobile Damen InvaSave BWT unit provides ship owners with a cheaper alternative to retrofitting fixed BWT systems.
Ballast Water Treatment Barges
Damen has also developed 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”, the organisation focusing on the preservation of the Waddensea, which is listed as a protected UNESCO world heritage site.
Mobile BWT Units
Damen wanted to offer an alternative to retrofitting ships with a BWT system as well as offer a back-up system for ports when onboard treatment fails. In addition to avoiding considerable retrofit investments, the mobile solution means ballast water only needs treating at the point of discharge, in contrast to fixed onboard BWT installations that also need 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 300 m3/h – it is easy to scale up if required by using multiple container units. The system has been successfully tested in the challenging waters of the Wadden Sea and the IJsselmeer in the Netherlands and is currently being certified by the Dutch flag state.
Below a video of InvaSave as well as some extra renderings (please click the pop-out link to view them in their proper dimensions).
