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Wärtsilä wins three ballast water system orders for China boxships

Wärtsilä wins three ballast water system orders for China boxships
Wärtsilä has won orders to install its UV ballast water management (BWM) systems on three containership newbuilds under construction at Jinhai Shipyard in China.

Under construction for what a press statement described as a “major” European shipping company, each vessel will be fitted with a 500 cu m Wärtsilä Aquarius UV BWM system, due for delivery between end 2015 and end 2016.

This repeat business follows an order for Wärtsilä BWMS equipment placed last year by the same company, installed on three 2,100 teu container ship newbuilds built in Asia and delivered in December 2014.

"Ballast water management is an important feature of the overall emphasis on environmentally sustainable shipping,” said Lars Bo Kirkegaard, gm of BWMS Sales at Wärtsilä Ship Power. “Wärtsilä has always paid great attention to working in close cooperation with the customer to ensure that the selected system is appropriate for the ship and its operating profile, and this has been the case here as well. We have enjoyed working closely with the owners and with the Jinhai Shipyard, and have received excellent support in planning this project."

Each Aquarius UV system, granted Alternative Management System (AMS) acceptance from the US Coastguard (USCG), uses mesh filtration followed by medium pressure UV disinfection technology. Work to achieve full USCG Type Approval for all products in the Aquarius BWMS range commenced early in 2014.

In a press release, the group called Ballast Water “a hotly debated topic”, citing the recent MEPC 68 meeting in London. “Several states, including Argentina, India, Belgium and Indonesia have declared that they are in the process of ratifying this legislation. The IMO Secretary General has reiterated that as the barriers to ratification are being discussed and answers developed, the Ballast Water Convention should be ratified before the end of this year.

“Credible suppliers with robust ballast water management systems have already began the application process for USCG (United States Coastguard) type approval, and Wärtsilä is already fully engaged in this process.”