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ERMA FIRST

FIRST EVERY TIME IN GLOBAL WATER PROTECTION powered by Inside Marine

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ERMA FIRST

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First every time in global

WATER protection ERMA FIRST, a leading Greek maritime-focused engineering group, has continued to evolve at pace during the pandemic by successfully transitioning to become a multiplatform solutions provider with the concerted aim to protect the environment. Having made two key acquisitions, including oneTANK, the world’s smallest ballast water treatment system, the company is now poised to launch BLUE CONNECT, an alternative management power system for vessels. By Andy Probert.

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reek maritime engineering company ERMA FIRST has gained an excellent reputation as an expert manufacturer and installer of ballast water treatment systems in the last decade. Having more than 3,000 units aboard vessels, it has been at the forefront of a fast-maturing niche market given the imposition of IMO and USCG rules on environmental protection.

While the company enjoyed a 20% uplift in BWT business in 2021, ERMA FIRST has also demonstrated its adaptability in a relatively fast-moving market.

“We completed two acquisitions, launched a new product and have other plans in the pipeline reflecting a strategy and desire to become a multi-product, multi-market player,” confirmed Managing Director and co-founder Konstantinos Stampedakis. “We are not afraid of change. We embrace it.”

Piraeus-headquartered ERMA FIRST was established in 2009 with its first generation BWTS certified in 2012 and onboarded to 50 vessels. Its second-generation FIT system was launched and installed on 2,100 ships, ranging from luxury yachts to crude oil tankers.

The company expects to see BWTS installations hit a peak of 1,000 vessel installations in 2022, compared to 800 units in 2021 and 420 installations on 320 ships in 2018.

The system was the first full flow electrolysis BWTS vendor worldwide to be granted United States Coast Guard (USCG) approval. A second USCG citation followed in 2020 for its third filter alternative by adding HYDAC filters to its range of options.

Tested in three water salinities, the FIT system offers a reliable, simple and effective solution for all types and sizes of vessels. Covering an extensive capacity range from 50 to 3,600m3/hr, FIT’s primary components are a high-end backwash filter and an electrolytic cell.

A self-cleaning automatic screen filter has a nominal filtration rate of 40 microns. It offers enormous zooplankton, phytoplankton and sediment removal, minimum pressure and uninterrupted, long-lasting operation on a small footprint element.

ERMA FIRST introduced several advancements to FIT in 2021 to aid efficient installation on larger vessels and tankers. It also launched a remote monitoring system operation for the system, with embedded artificial intelligence for data analysis collection.

Year of advancement While the company, which employs 200 people across Piraeus and offices in Korea and China, has continued to keep pace with BWTS demand from international clients, it also consolidated its business standing with expansion and acquisition in 2021.

Its first acquisition was Bremen, Germany-based marine water specialist RWO GmbH. RWO provides water and wastewater treatment systems for ships, ports and offshore installations and is a market leader in bilge water separation systems.

RWO’s product portfolio includes the treatment of drinking and process water, bilge oil water, ballast, wastewater, and a comprehensive range of after-sales spare parts and services. Over 16,000 ships have been equipped with RWO’s oil water separators since 1975.

Mr Stampedakis commented: “In RWO, we acquired a world leader in water treatment systems for the shipping industry with a solid customer base and a reputation for excellence and reliability. Such acquisition makes ERMA FIRST one of the biggest marine equipment suppliers when it comes to the installed basis which is in the range of 20,000 vessels.

“We have a track record of innovation with our ballast water technologies and are well known for our high-quality engineering and customer-first ethos. We are committed to building on RWO’s experience and to help take the company, its products and people to the next level of international success.”

World’s smallest BWTS ERMA FIRST then followed this with the acquisition of oneTANK, the world’s smallest and easiest to install ballast water treatment system. US-based oneTANK was a subsidiary of naval architecture and marine engineering firm Glosten and had developed a small scale innovative, low-cost, IMO Revised G8 Code and USCG approved compliant system.

The system can be installed in larger vessels’ aft peak tanks based on a patented mixing technology developed by the US Geological Survey. It is also suitable for workboats, tugboats, semi-submersibles, fishing vessels and superyachts.

The technology is already being adopted on ships in aft peak tanks within Overseas Shipholding Group’s tanker fleet and the dredger MV Charlock in the Netherlands.

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ERMA FIRST

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“This is a game-changing ballast water treatment technology,” declared Mr Stampedakis. “oneTANK is compact, simple to use, and fully automated. It delivers a quick to install additional solution for after peak tanks on big ships and a stand-alone solution for small vessels.

“To win the battle against invasive marine species and effectively protect our vulnerable marine eco-systems, ballast water from internationally trading smaller vessels also needs treating in a way which is practical and economically viable. We believe we have this solution in the form of oneTANK.” The system treats ballast water within the vessel’s ballast tank and has no filters, ultra-violet lamps or electrolytic chlorine generators. Its footprint is only 600mm x 600mm, half the size of its nearest competitor, and power consumption is similar to that of a household washing machine. oneTANK provides a ballast water management solution that works in all water qualities and salinities. The system uses an 8.25% or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and 30% sodium thiosulfate solution – readily available chemicals from suppliers worldwide.

Application is practical for smaller vessels as a 20-litre container of 12.5% bleach will treat approximately 288 cbm of ballast water.

For larger vessels, oneTANK can treat tanks as large as 4,000 cbm.

ERMA FIRST has since announced it would be supplying oneTANK to Damen Green Solutions, the Netherlands-based shipbuilding and engineering expert. Damen has a broad selection of BWT systems in its range, and the addition of the ERMA FIRST oneTANK will provide its clients with a solution that is small and modular.

He explained: “oneTANK is small enough to be housed in a 20ft container. This means installation is quite straightforward and, more importantly, at the end of the vessel’s operational life, it can be removed and installed on another vessel.

“The system is a game-changer for the target vessels with space limitations, struggling to comply with stringent ballast water regulations. For ERMA FIRST, it opens a completely new and exciting avenue of business opportunity and potential in the BWTS niche.”

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Remaining competitive, innovative The recent acquisitions complement the 2019 takeover by ERMA FIRST of METIS Cyberspace Technology, previously owned by Olympia Group.

METIS specialises in electronic engineering, IoT, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, offering a platform that enables shipping companies to acquire and analyse data to improve performance over a wide range of operational aspects.

The innovative METIS platform uses cloud-based virtual personal assistants that work ceaselessly to provide in-time information, diagnosis and prediction to company personnel through a conversational user interface focused on the requirements of shipping companies.

METIS’s expertise is complementary, offering an extensive added value to ERMA FIRST’s. With technology playing an increasingly critical role in every aspect of the industry, both companies recognise the need to accelerate the development of green digital solutions to ensure they remain competitive.

New product announcement Mr Stampedakis revealed the company has also launched ERMA FIRST BLUE CONNECT, an alternative management power system.

It is a containerised solution installed on the vessel and can be connected to shoreside electricity sources when in port, helping them reduce environmental impact.

He explained: “There are many localised regulations in ports worldwide that do not allow a vessel to burn any fossil fuels while it is in berth. Instead, the port offers a shore power connection.

But to connect with an alternative power source, a vessel requires something like BLUE CONNECT that allows this connection.”

The concept of cold ironing, another definition of the alternative management power system, is not new and has been helping ships reduce their direct carbon emissions and comply with local air quality regulations. However, the increasing amount of renewably generated electricity now available on port electrical grids means that plugging into shore power really can be carbon neutral.

Konstantinos Stampedakis Managing Director and co-founder

Every ship operator is facing the challenge of reducing their carbon footprint and increasing energy efficiency. Cold ironing offers a way of achieving this. Plugging into shore power and switching off engines also means less noise and less local particulate pollution for local port communities.

BLUE CONNECT was officially launched in November 2021 at a conference in Greece after extensive R&D trials were completed. It will initially be offered to the container, RoRo, cruise and tanker sectors.

BLUE CONNECT will provide Onshore Power Supply (OPS) systems suitable for retrofit and new-build vessels. It will be available within a container or as a stand-alone system with components installed at a convenient onboard location.

“We have received many enquiries for BLUE CONNECT, and we are hopeful that we will sign a couple of projects that will act as a pilot so the unit can perform, it can be reviewed and any design changes handled before mass production,” said Mr Stampedakis.

Moving forward ERMA FIRST has also initiated R&D projects for three new products, including one for carbon capture and storage, which Mr Stampedakis described as the next big challenge facing the shipping industry.

“Challenges, such as the global supply chain issues around electrical and electronic products, and spiralling raw material cost, are being faced. But due to good planning and stocking equipment, and support of loyal suppliers, we are managing. If this situation does not resolve itself by the end of 2022, we will plan accordingly to continue to meet the high demand of the market.”

Mr Stampedakis said: “Given our financial sustainability, bringing on board two new companies and their products, and with BLUE CONNECT, we believe we will remain strong in the market.

“As for green sustainability, we are trying to measure the carbon footprints of our products in their lifecycles, trying to find ways of reducing the transportation mileage of the products, and we are also initiating a procedure of improving our packaging, either through wood or recycled materials.”

Never a company to stand still, ERMA FIRST, said Mr Stampedakis, is always looking to improve its products, making them more efficient – both cost-wise and performance-wise.

“We are committed to clients; we still manage each project uniquely with a dedicated project manager and team,” he said.

“We are not afraid of investing in new products or investing in products for the marine environment. It makes ERMA FIRST a one-stop solution for many ship owners for wastewater or water treatment onboard the vessel.

“What defines us is our can-do attitude, dedication and open relationships with clients. We will do all we can to deliver, meet their needs and find a solution to any challenges they have.”

He concluded: “We do believe when it comes to ballast water and oneTANK we can provide for every type and size of vessel.

By investing in RWO, we have more than 20,000 vessels equipped with our products.

“ERMA FIRST is shifting its profile from a single-product, singlemarket company to a group of companies, with multiple products.

We consider ERMA FIRST is now one of the strongest on the market, with a consistent focus on quality marine protection.” n Inside Marine

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