Optimarin has reached a new agreement with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (FBS) in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for the delivery of two Optimarin Ballast Systems (OBS). The system has a capacity of 500m3/h each.
According to Optimarin the order enquiries go »through the roof« since the[ds_preview] the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has type approved it’s ballast water treatment system (BWTS) in December 2016.
The fresh agreement will see both systems installed on a 155,000-barrel capacity clean products barge, with delivery scheduled for August 2018. It is, according to Optimarin CEO Tore Andersen, an important sign of the trust his company’s clients have in both his business and its environmentally friendly UV technology.
Optimarin has been exclusively focused on developing BWT technology since its formation in 1994. Renowned as the company to install the first ever commercial system – on the Princess Regal in 2000 – it also became the first supplier to receive full USCG approval in December 2016. »This was a massive step forwards for the business,« Andersen explains. With USCG’s tough standards and IMO’s ratification of the Ballast Water Management (BWM) convention, BWT is an issue that no shipping company could afford to ignore Andersen adds.
Optimarin has now received orders for around 500 OBS systems, with more than 300 installed worldwide. Over 100 of these have been retrofits, delivered in conjunction with global engineering partners Goltens and Zeppelin Power Systems the company stated.
Alongside approval from IMO and USCG, Optimarin’s technology is certified by a comprehensive range of classification organisations, including DNV GL, Lloyd’s, Bureau Veritas, MLIT Japan, and American Bureau of Shipping.
