Namdock takes up ballast water treatment system
Ship repair company, Namdock has successful installed two ballast water treatment systems on one of its long-term clients’ offshore support vessels.
According to Claus Zeilinger, Assistant Technical Superintendent of Carpentry and Electrical at Namdock, the established ship repair company located in Walvis Bay, last year obtained certification to install Bio Sea ballast water treatment systems on their vessels.
“We have also recently completed the complex installation of an ESMA ballast water treatment system in a heavy fuel tanker which docked in Walvis Bay. This was a major and very interesting project, which saw an inter-disciplinary team of fifty people working around the clock to pull off the project. This was successfully completed in just three weeks,” Zeilinger said.
The installation of ballast water treatment systems is part of Namdock’s integrated ship repair offering. At this stage, Namdock undertakes work on the piping, valves and electrical installation of the ballast water treatment system. Their certified installation team commissions the system, and then trains the client’s staff on board the vessel in the operation thereof.
Zeilinger and two of his team members completed training in the installation and commissioning of the Bio Sea system in France last year.
“One of the main benefits of this system is that it treats the ballast water through ultra-violet (UV) radiation. It is therefore completely safe to use, contains no harmful chemicals and the installation is simple. These factors make it one of the best systems to use worldwide,” he said.
Namdock has presented its recently-completed ballast water treatment system installations to maritime class surveyors, who verified that they were satisfied with the way in which the systems were operating. The installations were done on vessels which had docked at Port of Walvis Bay for their two or five year classification surveys.
Zeilinger explained that vessels which take in seawater have until 2024 to comply with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (Ballast Water Management Convention) which aims to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms from one region to another by establishing standards and procedures for the management and control of ships’ ballast water and sediments, and stop damage to the sea and marine environment from ballast water discharge.
According to the rules of the Convention, all vessels in international waters are required to manage their ballast water and sediments to a certain standard, according to a vessel-specific ballast water management plan.
“We are likely to see a growing number of vessels calling at the port and docking with Namdock for the installation of ballast water treatment systems as we move closer to the 2024 deadline,” Zeilinger added.
Namdock’s services relating to ballast water treatment systems will also benefit the local Namibian maritime environment, as the ballast water deposited by vessels docking at the port will not contain foreign viruses or bacteria which could harm the country’s beautiful beaches and coastline.
“The Namdock installation team is also ready to install the Bio Sea systems at ports in our neighbouring sub-Saharan African countries – such as in South Africa. We are looking to supply technical expertise and support relating to the systems wherever our clients’ vessels are situated,” said Zeilinger.
Caption: The Ballast water treatment system from Namdock.
