Wärtsilä has signed a manufacturing license agreement with Cosco Shipbuilding Marine Technology Company Limited (WeCosco) based in Weihai, China.
The two-way agreement provides Cosco with access to technology and the rights to manufacture the Wärtsilä Aquarius Electro Chlorination (EC) Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) under license for application in their global marine market. In return, Wärtsilä gains access to an additional manufacturing facility able to assist with supply and demand of the Wärtsilä BWMS. The agreement was signed in Weihai on 28 May and takes effect from 1 June.
Ownership
Wärtsilä retains ownership of the Aquarius EC technology and all associated Intellectual Property Rights, and will provide technical support to WeCosco who will manufacture the system under license for applications on ships across the global marine market including Cosco. Cosco operates a number of shipyards in China and has one of the largest shipping fleets in the world. The Aquarius EC BWMS will be supplied with Type Approvals obtained by Wärtsilä and according to both IMO and USCG legislation. The BWMS can be installed on new as well as existing ships.
The agreement has a five year initial term. The two companies will support each other in delivering the BWMS technology to a broader customer base, and in providing long term global service support and sales of spare parts for our combined customer base.
Aquarius EC
The Wärtsilä Aquarius EC BWMS treats ballast water using a simple two stage process involving filtration and electro-chlorination (EC). It is effective in all operating and environmental conditions. The system is easy to integrate and maintain, and is type approved according to the IMO Convention and has an Alternative Management System (AMS) acceptance certificate from the United States Coastguard (USCG). The Aquarius EC BWMS has also successfully completed land based testing in accordance with the USCG environmental technology verification (ETV) protocols and USCG Type Approval is anticipated in early 2016.
Picture: Wärtsilä Aquarius EC BWMS.
