Ballast Retrofit: the Engineering Challenge

Wartsila has a long heritage in environmental products, it’s not only ballast systems that we supply to this market, we are also involved in NOX  and SOX emissions solutions,fuel conversions, inert gas systems as well as waste water , oil water separators and waste water retrofits.

For the ballast, Wartsila covers two technologies: the UV technology and EC technology. UV technology is IMO type approved and USCG AMS accepted. EC technology, which is also IMO type approved, offers electro-chlorination using a side stream functionality. We also provide EX approved systems and we have succesfully completed our USCG land based testing in fresh brackish and saline water. The retrofit of the EC system is commencing currently and we hope to submit our application for the EC USCG Type Approval by the end of 2016 in order to have a type approval system in 2017. As it is known , testing costs a lot of  money, however we continue to invest heavily to ensure that we meet both the USCG and environmental testing requirements. Wartsila has invested in these two technologies to try meet the hole market demand. The UV power consuption for large bulk carriers is a huge amount of kW so we think that EC technology suits better in that range of the market.

The technology that has to do with the retrofit challenge, is easy to retain it but probably more difficult to install it in every vessel’s structure. Within our services and throught business in Finland, we have a number of engineers and installed processors which we work towards trying to ensure we meet the install requirements. Our approach covers ships survey and complete feasibility study of the vessel and we can then carry 3D Scan. Both of the images below show a 3D scan which is undertaken from a container vessel currently being retrofitted in China without equipment. The images also show the installation of the filter and of the UV filter itself. 3D scan images revealed that we had to move the filter from horizontal to vertical position around the vessel in order to make sure that we could fit it into the vessel.

We also provide support for complete plan approval. We provide the shipyard with the full package of prefabricated drawings for prefabricated spills and the appropriate package for the shipyard to install the system and trained engineers to come in commission at the end.

As well as retrofit and retrofit challenge the inservice challenge is obviously a key thing for any new marine product within the market. In Wartsila we have a number of maintenace models which have been derived from our other equipment supply and within these maintenance models we are developing ballast equipment models to ensure that we meet all the requirements.

An example of that is a project from which we have supplied free UV systems on three vessels. Wartsila offered a fixed contract to cover all OPEX , all surveys, all attendance, all parts and all logistics. We came in an aggrement and signed a contract which covers vessel for five years for the Ballast Water Management system. It is a fixed monthly payment that covers everything that is required on board for the ballast system for sixty months, gives the owner twenty-four hour support and annual survey to ensure that the ships crew is operating the equipment with a correct way. This project leverages the Wartsila global network and ensures that the operator has a fixed cost at the end of the day.

It is important the ballast system suppliers to offer owners some guaranteed end to end support. The product should not only meets the regulation but also be installed safely and efficiently and then when the system is installed, to be supported throughout his life. Operational support needs to have a global footprint. The worldwide retrofit resource will be stretched to meet demand. Thirty two and a half thousand vessels that will require retrofitting during the five-year period, will also require resources very thinly and currently we are seeing a number of operators looking to pre-engineer their fleet in order to meet ballast water installation.

This includes ballast ready which is what number of operators take advantage of their current dry docking and pre ratification to start doing some engineering on their vessels to make ballast ready which means when the BWM Convention is ratified and the owner decides to buy the ballast equipment, to be installed easily without the need of a dry docking. This ballast ready concept is getting significant traction in the market. Ship intergration is a major risk and cost drivers as well. The electrical installation both from an alarm handling point of view and from a cargo point of view, makes intergration a major issue and a major cost driver. We assess this as a significant ris, it is something that cannot be overlooked.

Above text is an edited article of Craig Patrick’s presentation during the 2016 GREEN4SEA Conference & Awards.

You may view his video presentation by clicking here

The views presented hereabove are only those of the author and not necessarily those of  GREEN4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion  purposes only.

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About Craig Patrick, General Manager – Sales, Wartsila Environmental services

Since joining Wartsila in early 2015, Craig has been responsible for developing Wartsila’s BWMS retrofit sales strategy. A Chartered Mechanical Engineer from Glasgow , Craigs career started as a design engineer with the Military Shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft , and went on to hold a number of engineering and project management positions. Craig then moved and held  senior sales positons with a number shipbuilding and defence businesses before joining Finning UK as Business Unit manager (Marine), the Caterpillar dealer business covering UK and Ireland. Following 5 years of progressive growth, Craig joined Wartsilas Environmental team to grow and develop the exciting engineering challenges in Ballast Water treatment