»Chlorine dioxide is an incredibly effective biocide«
Why did you opt for chlorine dioxide for ballast water treatment?
Katie Weaver: We use chlorine dioxide due[ds_preview] to its superior disinfection capabilities. It is a widely used and incredibly effective biocide that has been demonstrated to be effective in a wide variety of land-based treatment applications for over 70 years. Ecochlor was founded with the sole purpose of bringing chlorine dioxide to the ballast water treatment market, which has allowed Ecochlor to develop a simple and reliable BWMS that is effective on all aquatic organisms regardless of changes in water quality such as turbidity, salinity or temperature.
Can shipowners use your systems in any kind of water or are there restrictions for different seawater types?
Weaver: Our technology works in all water types. Both our USCG and IMO Type Approval were issued without limitations on temperature, salinity, or turbidity.
The market of BWTS manufacturers is quite fragmented. Do you expect any consolidation?
Weaver: There may be some M&A activity in the market, but right now we are seeing that as more ships are fitted with BWMS, owners are gaining experience with the variety of technologies out there. The feedback we have received is that reliability, simplicity, efficacy, and prompt service are the most important factors. We expect that there will continue to be consolidation in the market as those manufacturers that have less reliable technologies or who cannot support their treatment systems post-installation lose traction in the market. We will monitor the situation, but our expansion strategy features other marine environmental and safety technologies beyond BWMS.
Are there any installations planned or systems sold already?
Weaver: We have a total of 139 BWTS currently installed and at the time of writing have an additional 203 systems on our order book. Approximately 125 of these systems are planned for installation in 2020. Of the 139 BWT installed, greater than 97% are currently available for operation.
What do you expect in terms of technological evolution?
Weaver: Like our core technology, the majority of BWMS systems available in the marketplace have been developed based on proven water treatment technology that has precedence in the land-based water treatment industry. Thus, we do not expect significant technological evolutions in the technologies themselves. One example we are currently evaluating is incorporating remote monitoring of our BWMS. We will continue to consider and incorporate modifications.
