Oslo based Golar LNG announced that it has agreed with Erma First, to install a Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) on up to 16 LNG vessels.
The first installations of ERMA FIRST BWTS is set to take place during the company’s next dry-docking scheduled for the second quarter of 2018. The installation of the system will continue until the end of 2022 according to the shipping company’s dry-docking schedule.
“We decided to install ERMA FIRST BWTS, which is designed and produced in Greece, starting at an early stage which provides us with certain commercial and financial advantages, including availability of equipment, minimization of downtime, unrestricted worldwide trading in the following years and the financial benefits of a block order,” said Oistein Dahl COO at Golar LNG.
The shipping company also added that it has cooperated with ERMA FIRST over the previous months to enhance and adapt the system to the company’s vessels.
ERMA FIRST BWTS received the United States Coast Guard (the USCG) type approval certificate in October 2017.
The Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention entered into force on September 8, 2017. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had adopted a similar regulation for ballast water treatment which became effective on January 1, 2016.
Under the rules of the IMO convention, all ships engaged in international trade are required to manage their ballast water to avoid the introduction of alien species into coastal areas, including exchanging their ballast water or treating it using an approved ballast water management system.
