USA: Siemens Received IMO’s Final Approval for Sicure Ballast Water Management System

The Maritime Environmental Protection Committee of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) has granted Siemens Final Approval for its Sicure ballast water management system. The Final Approval is based on a directive issued by the IMO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, which requires all deep-sea vessels to operate IMO-approved ballast water management systems.

The objective is to avoid the spread of alien aquatic organisms and pathogens carried in untreated ballast water. The IMO directive will come into force in the near future and will entail retrofitting approximately 68,000 seagoing vessels worldwide.

For its Sicure system, the Siemens Industry Automation Division received Basic Approval back in 2010, as the first leg of a two-tier certification process by the IMO. By granting Final Approval, the IMO confirms the new Siemens ballast water management system’s environmental compatibility and compliance with the safety standards. The Sicure system is a further development of the Chloropac system, which has seen 35 years of successful ship-board use for treating seawater cooling circuits. The electrolytic system produces hypochlorite from the salt contained in seawater.

The Sicure system consists of a filtration stage followed by electrochlorination and a dosing unit which precisely meters the addition of hypochlorite. Electrochlorination occurs in a sidestream of the ballast water main. Only about one percent of the ballast water to be treated is carried through the system’s electrolysis cells. This makes for small system components which are easily integrated into existing vessels. Another key advantage of the Sicure system lies in the fact that it is not only used for treating ballast water but also for treating cooling water circuits on board. Since ballasting occurs only during very short periods in a ship’s lifetime, conventional ballast water systems remain idle 95 percent of the time. By contrast, the Sicure system can be used all the time, eliminating the need for an additional system for treating cooling water. The Siemens system is particularly suited for vessels above a gross tonnage of 35,000.

Water treatment equipment is an important part of Siemens’ marine technology product offering. Siemens also specializes in the design, manufacture and commissioning of electrical ship propulsion systems for all types of merchant vessels, naval vessels and submarines worldwide.

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Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, May 10, 2012; Image: siemens