The agreements with Polsteam and Nova Ship Tech SA come as many ship owners shift their focus from individual ballast water treatment systems to complete fleet solutions. Over the past year, clarifications of the ballast water management legislation have made it easier – and more important – to maintain a wider, more long-term perspective.
“In light of recent directives from authorities, leading actors like Polsteam and Nova Ship Tech SA are keen to secure not just the right technology, but also a stable partner who will be there to support them in the long term,” says Anders Lindmark, Head of Alfa Laval PureBallast.
Large systems and strong partnership
Polsteam’s fleet agreement expands upon a previous investment in PureBallast 3 systems that the company made in mid-2017. With the installation of those six systems currently underway, Polsteam has now chosen to equip the rest of its fleet with PureBallast 3 – bringing its total ownership to 60 systems. All systems will handle large flows of at least 1000 m3/h, with 16 systems handling 2000 m3/h or more.
“This was a key decision for Polsteam, based on long-term factors such as operating economy and supplier security,” says Grzegorz Wardzyński, Director of the Technical Department at Polsteam. “The UV technology used by PureBallast 3 will be simpler and more cost-effective than electrochlorination, even for our very large systems. But it was equally important to choose a supplier who could deliver now and still be there to support us long into the future.”
Wardzyński concludes, “Knowledge, service and parts will be critical to ensure compliance in the years our vessels have ahead.”
Simplifying fleet-wide installations
For Nova Ship Tech SA, whose fleet agreement covers ballast water treatment systems for 34 vessels, the high flexibility of PureBallast 3 was a major factor in the decision. PureBallast 3 can be implemented smoothly, despite the variations that exist when working across a fleet.
“Intervening in the existing structures and systems of ships in operation is much more complex than a whole newbuild project,” says Francesco Costagliola, Nova Ship Tech SA Technical Manager. “Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 has a compact and highly flexible structure that facilitates installation as a retrofit. Above all, Alfa Laval has the field expertise and proven operating procedures to adapt it to any ship.”
Costagliola notes, however, that the choice of PureBallast 3 goes deeper than installation. “The operating costs and the opportunity for global service are clearly very important to us,” he says. “If there were any problems of any kind, we know that Alfa Laval would solve them."
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
