BALLAST WATER TREATMENT

CRUISE

CONTROLS

Coming up with green solutions for dealing with ballast water and other waste treatments on board ships is key to protecting oceans from lasting damage

Water treatment specialist RWO’s business development manager Lars Nupnau explains how new sustainable technologies can provide the answer to reducing the environmental impact of cruise operations, as calls to protect the world’s oceans increase.

“Sustainability is now a top priority across maritime and shipping, and this is particularly the case in the cruise and passenger ship industry, where a growing number of guests bring highly developed environmental sensibilities on board.

“Consumers are increasingly better informed on the impact shipping is having on the planet: passenger service providers may be measured by standards set in domestic lives on energy consumption, recycling or on opting for plant-based detergents,” he says.

A recent survey conducted by travel agency network Virtuoso found that 82% of respondents wanted to travel more responsibly in the future, with 70% agreeing that sustainable travel enhanced the experience. Half of respondents ranked a strong sustainability policy as “very important” when choosing a hotel, cruise line or travel company.

Ship emissions represent a central consideration for cruise lines. However, expectations today go beyond holding owners accountable, with guests now wishing to play an active role in environmental protection, whether through responsible towel laundering, recycling, or investing in reusable water bottles.

“While not a conversation starter at the buffet, sewage management is increasingly important for ship operators because guests witnessing the majesty of nature have a strong preference not to cause it direct damage. Also referred to as black water, sewage contains a myriad of hazardous pathogens, bacteria, viruses, and chemical nutrients which are harmful to human and marine life,” says Nupnau.

“However, like many areas of concern for the marine environment, regulation remains the most consistent means of controlling

whether, where and in what form sewage can be discharged.”

International Maritime Organization (IMO) MARPOL Annex IV regulates the discharge of sewage waste from ships. Annex IV prohibits the discharge of sewage into the sea unless the ship has an approved sewage treatment plant in operation, or the sewage being discharged into the sea has been broken down and disinfected using an approved system at a distance of more than three nautical miles from the coast.

However, the 2016 resolution MEPC.227(64) introduced Special Areas and entirely prohibited the discharge of sewage from passenger ships within these areas unless the vessel has an approved sewage treatment plant that also removes chemical nutrients.

Chapter 4.2 of the resolution states that, if a vessel is intending to discharge sewage effluent in Special Areas, the treatment system must meet the nitrogen and phosphorus removal standards.

The Baltic Sea is currently the only Special Area under these regulations and as of 2021 applied to all new and existing passenger ships operating in this area. However, from 1 June 2023, restrictions will apply to “existing passenger ships on route directly to or from a port located outside the Special Area and to or from a port located east of longitude 28”10’E within the Special Area that do not make any other port calls within the Special Area”.

RWO, a supplier of “intelligent water management solutions”, suggests that it is fair to assume that more areas will come under the regulations as pressure to protect the world’s oceans from pollutants continues to grow.

“In today’s environment, cruise lines have two main options when it comes to sewage treatment – to install an advanced wastewater treatment system (AWTS) or hold treated sewage on-board,” says Nupnau.

“RWO recently launched its new generation AWTS, with first installations taking place on-board two of the Celebrity Solstice-class vessels – the Celebrity Silhouette and Celebrity Reflection. The installations will upgrade the vessels existing RWO MEMROD sewage treatment plants in preparation for the regulation changes in 2023. Type approved in accordance with IMO MEPC.227(64) including chapter 4.2 for nitrogen and phosphorus removal within special areas, RWO’s CleanSewage Membrane Bioreactor (CS-MBR) is a sustainable biological treatment technology that has been designed to minimise a vessels impact on the environment, exceeding regulatory requirements by providing the highest effluent standards.”

Customisable to individual requirements, the CS-MBR treatment process can be broken down into three stages: » Solids are removed from the wastewater during the mechanical

pre-treatment process » A high performance activated sludge process commences where pollutants are degraded and removed » Clean water is separated from the activated sludge using a submerged membrane resulting in water that is completely free of solids and pure enough to be re-used in other functions such as laundry, or as technical water. Membrane technology will be gamechanging for the cruise sector, according to RWO. Membranes remove over 99% of solids, including microplastics and viruses, which enhances water purity and prevents diseases. While membranes are sometimes used as an additional stage after the biological treatment process, what makes the CS-MBR unique is its submerged membrane design used in the bioreactor during the final treatment stage. This enables a compact design and increases energy efficiency.

Nupnau says: “As industry events this year have shown, expectations for sustainability will only continue to rise. In an increasingly digital and connected maritime industry, RWO is also working alongside industry partners, including TUI Cruises and Hanover University, in support of the cross-industry ‘OSCAR’ research project. Funded by the German Government, OSCAR is researching online modelling, simulation, and remote-control systems for on-board environmental technologies on cruise ships.

“Scientists from the Institute of Sanitary Engineering and Waste Management are developing and testing digital twins for AWTS. The aim of the project is to design a digital twin that enables ship management companies to simulate the AWTS of a cruise ship onshore using data from the vessel, to support crew and provide advice or guidance where required.“

In October last year, the ship sewage treatment plant in the ISAH technical centre located at the HanoverHerrenhausen sewage treatment plant went live. It was fitted with a smaller version of RWO’s CS-MBR system.

THIRD-PARTY TREATMENT

Bawat and partners Bawat Technology Services and Freedom Ballast announced the introduction of the very first US port Third Party Ballast Water Treatment as a Service (T-aa-S) project earlier this year. Using a mobile, containerised, ballast water treatment system from Bawat, the job was performed with a customer in Louisiana for multiple vessels.

Marcus Peter Hummer, chief executive at Bawat, says: “We are thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking first movement to facilitate ports and yards with ballast water reception technology in the US. With our US-based partner Freedom Ballast, we expect to place more hardware and facilities across the US in the coming months and years to service an increasing demand for both planned and contingency ballast water treatment jobs.

“As regulation gets tighter and compliance date for vessels to live up to United States Coast Guard discharge criteria’s for invasive species in ballast water are getting closer to finalisation, we are seeing an increase demand for ballast water reception service. With Bawat’s filter-less one-pass technology, we are ideally suited to service this market, and in joint venture ship with Bawat Technology Services and Freedom Ballast, we have found ideal partners”.

COLDIRONING CONNECTION

Industry-leading ballast water treatment specialists Erma First has launched Blue Connect, a high-voltage shore power solution.

The system facilitates a vessel’s connection to a port’s electrical grid in order to power the vessel’s systems and equipment while at berth.

This enables the ship’s diesel generators to be switched off, with a resultant reduction in noise and emissions, such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, carbon oxides and volatile organic compounds.

The installation and use of Blue Connect can contribute to the global shipping industry’s decarbonisation goals, including the European Union’s Fit for 55 plan, the US’s California Air Resources Board regulations and the International Maritime Organization’s carbon reduction measures, the company says.

The vessel is connected to shore through a cable management system. Erma First currently offers standard Blue Connect models for RoRo/RoPax, passenger ferries, containers and tankers. Custom-made Blue Connect systems are also available.

The system includes a power transformer, which transforms high to low voltage, as well as the required switchgear to protect crew and equipment. The operation is controlled and monitored by the shore connection main control panel. Power changeover supports shore-to-vessel synchronisation to avoid black-out upon connection. The system can also be integrated to a vessel’s alarm monitoring system or/and power management system.

Konstantinos Stampedakis, Erma First managing director, says: “The launch of Blue Connect represents another key technological milestone for the Erma First Group. We now boast an array of game-changing engineering solutions and products for the maritime community globally. Protecting the environment has always been at the core of Erma First’s offering. Blue Connect is a highly advanced cold-ironing solution that can help significantly reduce emissions in ports around the world.”

CRUISE DEAL

French UV water treatment specialist BIO-UV Group has signed a major supply deal with luxury yacht builder Baglietto for several Bio-Sea ballast water treatment units for newbuild projects.

The agreement, which builds on the success of Baglietto’s Bio-Sea installations over the past two years, will see the ballast water treatment system manufacturer roll out 10 BioSea L01-0030 low flow systems over the next 12 months.

BIO-UV Group’s scope of supply includes five skid-mounted units for the builder’s 52m T52 line and five pre-assembled modular systems for its DOM 133 line. Each ballast water treatment system will be delivered with a yacht-standard white finish and can treat flow rates up to 30m3/h.

The yard’s technicians will carry out the installation work with the manufacturer’s Napoli-based certified service partner Tefin Marine Electronics ServiceNetwork, which will also be responsible for the commissioning of each system.

A key requirement was that each modular Bio-Sea unit was supplied compact and pre-assembled prior to delivery for installation simplicity, explains Maxime Dedeurwaerder, business unit director in BIO-UV Group’s maritime division.

“Our Bio-Sea engineering and design team was able to quickly adapt the system to meet the customer’s technical requirements and the limited space available in the machinery rooms.”

Each Bio-Sea L-series is made from high-quality marine components and is chlorine/chemical-free. They combine mechanical filtration with the right UV dose disinfection to provide yacht owners with one of the most ecologically safe ballast water management solutions available.