USCG Grants Approval to Two More BWM Systems

Swedish Alfa Laval Tumba AB and Norway-based OceanSaver AS have received Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) type approval certificates from the United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Center.

The second and third certificates were issued after a detailed review of each manufacturers’ type approval application determined the system met the requirements of 46 CFR 162.060.

The Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 system incorporates four ultraviolet reactor sizes: 170, 300, 600, 1000. The reactors can be arranged either individually or in parallel to achieve treatment capacities ranging from 85m3/h to 3000m3/h.

This initial approval only covers those systems which use the tested UV reactor sizes of 300 and 1000, according to the USCG. Future approval of the 170 and 600 reactors is dependent on Coast Guard approval of the UV reactor scaling studies, which are currently under review by the Marine Safety Center.

The OceanSaver BWTS MKII incorporates an electro-chlorination, or electrodialysis, process to achieve treatment capacities ranging from 200m3/h to 7200m3/h.

In early December, the USCG awarded the first type approval certificate to Norwegian ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin for its Optimarin Ballast System (OBS).

The development adds to IMO approval, and certification of OBS from several classification societies, including DNV GL, Lloyd’s, Bureau Veritas, MLIT Japan, and American Bureau of Shipping, according to the company.