Royal Netherlands Navy world’s first to install USCG-approved ballast water treatment system

The Royal Netherlands Navy has achieved the distinction of becoming the world’s first Navy to install a USCG approved ballast water treatment (BWT) system, fitting two Optimarin units on-board the vessel Zr.Ms. Johan de Witt.

Dutch engineering specialist Goltens Green Technologies completed the installation at the Navy Yard in Den Helder last month.

Turnkey installation
The project is part of a ten-vessel agreement between Goltens and the Dutch Navy, which will see turnkey installations of the Optimarin Ballast System (OBS) across a selection of advanced, specialist ships.

Goltens project manager Maarten Romijn said: ‘Space on this vessel was at a premium, so, after thorough 3D scanning, we exploited the modular nature of the Optimarin system to plan for an optimal installation, before starting pre-fabrication of the piping and electrical components.’

‘We then made a large transport opening in the ship’s hull’, continued Romijn, ‘to move the system and all related parts into the pump room.’

UV-filtration
Goltens fitted two OBS units, with one 1500m3/h system and one 500m3/h unit. Boasting a combination of automatic back flushing, self-cleaning filters (Boll & Kirch) and powerful 35 kW UV lamps, the systems have the capacity to neutralise all potentially invasive species in ballast water.

Goltens and Optimarin have retrofitted OBS units on around 100 vessels globally. In total, Optimarin has now sold more than 500 OBS systems, with over 300 installed and operational worldwide.

USCG-approval
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) adopted an international convention for the control and management of ships' ballast water and sediments (BWM Convention) that will enter into force on 8 September 2017.

In March 2012, the U.S. Coast Guard published a rule to establish a federal ballast water treatment standard for vessels operating in U.S. waters.

The rule represents the most environmentally protective standard (D-2) that could be achieved using commercially available shipboard ballast water treatment technologies.

About Goltens
Goltens Group is a leading provider of specialized repair, maintenance and reconditioning services and supplier of engineering components for the global shipping industry, offshore marine installations, industrial plants and power stations.

Goltens offers ship-owners, managers and OEMs comprehensive worldwide service from over 25 locations in 14 countries across the globe, and serves over 3,000 clients each year.

This news item was originally published on the website of Goltens.

Read also on this website
● Groningen Seaports commissions port-based InvaSave system to treat ballast water, 5 May 2017
● Fleet Cleaner completes first hull cleaning of Dutch naval ship Karel Doorman, 17 February 2017
● Damen's mobile InvaSave almost ready for port-based treatment of ballast water, 22 January 2016

More information
Goltens
Spijkenisse, the Netherlands
+31 181 465 109
www.goltens.com

Impression of a ballast water treatment retrofit on the Konstantin Jacob, a product tanker.