The progress of finding a suitable bal-last water treatment solution for all Briese vessels which complies with ei-ther the IMO as well as USCG D-2 stand-ards was quite complex. Capacities, space limitations on board, costs and manageability were only a few factors which had to be taken into account.
After an intensive comparison of dif-ferent technologies with several test installations Briese Schiffahrt selected Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 for the refitting of roughly 100 vessels.
Taking the various sizes and designs of the vessels into account Briese Schif-fahrt decided to install on all vessels a PureBallast 3 treatment system from company Alfa Laval. A mix of different PureBallast 3 systems has been selected.
Smaller vessels will be equipped with a skid-mounted PureBallast 3 Compact system in capacity of 135–300 m3/h whereas most vessels will get a Pure-Ballast 3 Compact Flex system with a capacity of 300–600 m3/h.
The bulker M/V BBC Neptune and M/V Daxia, which load and unload cargo at different rates, will be equipped with a PureBallast 3 bulker-fit configuration.
During de-ballasting, the bulk carrier can treat the full 1500 m3/h needed to discharge at full capacity while loading.
During ballast water uptake, which is not so time-critical, 750 m3/h is sufficient.
Another big advantage which under-lined the agreement with Alfa Laval is the provision of a PureBallast 3 Com-puter-Based Training, guidelines and how-to do videos for operation and maintenance. Furthermore, the sys-tem manual will be available in Russian language.
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Alfa Laval PureBallast 3 Compact Flex Alfa Laval PureBallast is an auto-mated inline treatment solution for the biological disinfection of ballast water. Operating without chemicals, it combines initial filtration with an enhanced form of UV treatment to remove organisms in accordance with stipulated limits.
The treatment components consist of the filter and the UV reactor. The filter is used during ballasting (and bypassed during de-ballasting) operations to block the intake of larger organisms and reduce sedi-ment in the ballast water tanks, the filter is cleaned via automatic backflushing using a small portion of the system flow. The enhanced UV treatment stage occurs within a reactor. The second stage of the system is an UV reactor in which disinfection treatment occurs.
The special design of the reactor’s synthetic quartz lamp sleeves sup-ports transmission of a broader wavelength spectrum, providing more UV light during disinfection.
The system components are addi-tional components for support. The electrical cabinet provides power to the UV lamps for flows up to 300 m3/h and features a 7” display with a graphical user interface. For sys-tems with a capacity of more than 300m3/h an additional lamp drive cabinet will be supplied. UV lamp performance is safeguarded by an automatic CIP cycle, using a non-toxic and biodegradable cleaning solution that prevents any impairing build-up.
Furthermore, each Briese vessel will be equipped with a remote-control panel to control the system from the cargo office.
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Taking all system components into ac-count someone can imagine that a ret-rofit of such a ballast water treatment system on an existing vessel is a diffi-cult and complex objective. Where on vessels like M/V BBC Ganges sufficient space can be achieved, the installation
on smaller vessels will be much more challenging.
To find the best option for installment of all components on board a service company creates a 3D scan of the en-gine room. Such a 3D – scan, done by a laser scanner, provides the possibi-lity to see real ‘as-built-assessments’ and measurements of engine room.
Pen ding on the vessel size it usually takes a couple of hours to complete several scans to create a full picture of the engine room. With the help of special computer programs and such ‘as-is-assessments’ it is possible to integrate the ballast water treatment system including piping, fittings and foundations in a virtual environment.
The scan of the engine room has been carried out on M/V Kurt Paul in February 2019 by company Winter 3D-Konstruktions GmbH. Based on this as-built-assessment a simulation of installation of the ballast water treatment system has been done.
Source: Winter 3D- Konstruktions GmbH
Such a retrofit includes a lot of works and modifications to be done on board like:
- Piping
- Foundations
- Pipes / foundations reinforcements
- Electrical integration into the main switchboard, alarm and monitoring system and remote control valve system
- Electrical cables lay up
- Floor plates modification
- Ejector modification (piping) The order for M/V BBC GANGES was placed beginning of March 2020. The installation
itself was done in April in Gdynia, Poland at Nauta Shipyard during 5-yearly dry docking and class renewal. Supervision and coordina-tion on site was done by Technical
Superintendent Dariusz Wolkowicki and supported by Adrian Beckmann from Briese Office.
The installation itself went quite smoothly.
All components passed an acceptance test at the factory in Aalborg, Denmark hand have been transported by truck to the shipyard.