Passenger ships and cruise ships with non-US Coast Guard type-approved ballast water treatment systems or systems without waivers are upgrading or replacing units to continue trading in US waters, reports Riviera Maritime Media.
New Ballast Water Contract
In this respect, French UV-based treatment specialist BIO-UV Group has secured a contract to retrofit a BIO-SEA ballast water management system to a cruise ship. Installation and commissioning will take place during the vessel’s scheduled drydocking in Europe later this year.
A modular BIO-SEA B01-0085 system with an 85 m3/hour flow rate will replace a competitor’s first-generation UV-type ballast water system currently installed on the 28,890 gt vessel.
Why this upgradation is crucial?
As the unnamed cruise ship is set to call at San Francisco next year, the competitor system needs to be replaced with a system compliant with US Coast Guard requirements.
BIO-UV Group’s BWT contracts manager Ludovic Rouzel said “We are delighted that Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, through Columbia, has opted to retrofit BIO-SEA to this vessel, our first reference with this cruise line.
“Operators of cruise ships fitted with first-generation BWMS technology which are revising their cruise itineraries to include US ports of call will need to upgrade (when possible) or replace these systems with USCG-approved units before they can enter US waters. We are discussing similar retrofit projects with a number of cruise lines.”
In March, BIO-UV Group retrofitted a modular 450 m3/hour capacity BIO-SEA unit aboard a 22,400-gt cruise ship.
“This was a very successful project for BIO-UV Group which worked closely with the shipyard from the outset,” said Mr Rouzel.
He added “This was the shipowners’ first experience of a BWMS retrofit but the installation and commissioning went very smoothly.”
Since its market introduction in 2013, BIO-UV Group has supplied 187 BIO-SEA units to an array of ship types, including cruises ships, ferries, mega-yachts, container ships, fishing and offshore support vessels, dredgers, and cable layers.
Focus on Cruise Retrofits
It is the expansive cruise ship market that BIO-UV Group has particular focus on, however, having already established a solid reputation for system reliability, performance and cost-efficiency in the segment.
BIO-SEA business director Xavier Deval said “According to analysts, the number of cruise ships is set to increase from the 314 vessels currently in service to more than 550 vessels by 2027. The emergent expedition cruise sector also provides significant opportunities for BIO-SEA’s smaller capacity units with flow rates between 10 and 90 m3/h.
“We also anticipate strong growth in the retrofit market as operators begin to replace non-compliant first-generation systems with those that are approved to meet USCG and IMO D8 standards.”
Earlier this year, the French water treatment specialist signed contracts for skid-mounted BIO-SEA 300 m3/h capacity units for installation in four Meraviglia-class and four World-class vessels for MSC Cruises.
BIO-UV Group will also supply BIO-SEA 300 m3/h capacity units for installation in eight newbuild cruise ships.
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Source: Riviera Maritime Media
