By
Rebecca Gibson |
Marine solutions provider Wärtsilä is to retrofit its Aquarius Ready ballast water management system (BWMS) on two of UK-based operator Condor Ferries’ ro-ro ferries.
The Aquarius Ready solution was developed by Wärtsilä to enable operators to prepare their vessels for compliance with the IMO Ballast Water Convention, which will enter into force 12 months after it has been ratified by 30 states.
Preparation work to install the BWMS is carried out in advance, minimising vessel downtime and enabling the remaining equipment to be delivered and installed at a time and location convenient to the customer. This helps to avoid capacity bottlenecks, while providing the necessary flexibility to accommodate the vessel’s operational priorities.
“The demand for Wärtsilä BWM systems is increasing rapidly as owners prepare their ships for regulatory compliance,” said Joe Thomas, director, Wärtsilä Ballast Water Management Systems. “The Wärtsilä Aquarius Ready solution enables cost saving and installation flexibility, while having Wärtsilä as a single point of contact between the yards, the class societies and the flag state authorities is a huge benefit for owners.”
After Wärtsilä’s contract with Condor Ferries was signed in February 2014, the firm carried out all preparation work on the two vessels in drydock. This included work to make the required connections to the main ballast line, install the bypass and isolating valves and complete the foundations. The final equipment will be delivered and commissioned within 12 months from the ratification of the IMO Ballast Water Convention.
“This partnership with Wärtsilä has allowed Condor to be ready to fit ballast water treatment without the need to lay up any of our ships, since the preparation work, which requires the ship to be out of service, was completed during planned refit periods,” Graham Belgum, fleet director of Condor Ferries, which operates services between mainland England, the Channel Islands, and France. “Fitment can then take place in-service when the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments is ratified.”