An Optimarin Ballast System (OBS) installed on Seven Pacific, a Subsea7 vessel, in 2015 has been upgraded to meet the ballast water treatment system (BWTS) requirements of the United States Coast Guard (USCG).
The Norway-based BWTS provider said in a press release that it originally installed its UV-based technology onboard the advanced offshore construction and pipe-laying vessel in 2015. Since that point the 667-m3 market proven system has, according to Seven Pacific Chief Engineer Oddgeir Refvik, been running smoothly, with minimal maintenance and easy operation.
Refvik described the upgrade as “very straightforward”. He said: “It only took a couple of hours to perform - basically being a software modification. The service engineer brought an updated manual and information plate onboard, upgraded the software and then took us through the changes. That was it. We can now easily change the operation mode of our Optimarin BWT system between IMO or USCG mode.”
Optimarin, the first manufacturer to achieve USCG approval in December 2016, has been exclusively focused on BWT technology since the company’s formation in 1994, installing the world’s first commercial system in 2000.
"This expertise has allowed the team to create and refine a solution that is simple, flexible and reliable, based on powerful 35kw UV lamps and filtration to eliminate all potentially invasive organisms carried in ballast water," the company said in the release.
Optimarin CEO Tore Andersen said: “In a niche technology sector that is still in its infancy the value of having tried, tested and market established systems can’t be overstated. Shipowners need reliable, effective and globally compliant solutions so they can get on with doing what matters most – focusing on core business and serving their customers."
Optimarin has now sold close to 700 OBS units, with more than 500 installed and operational, of which approximately 250 are retrofits. The Norwegian-headquartered firm has performed around 50 of the simple USCG upgrades to existing systems so far.