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SUSTAINABLE SHIPPING TEXT EMMA HOLMQVIST DEACON P
HOTO SHUTTERSTOCK & ALFA LAVAL PUREBALLAST 3 CHEMICAL-FREE and COMPLIANT – TICKS ALL THE BOXES Stringent new IMO G8 regulations call for compliant ballast water treatment systems. PureBallast 3 is ahead of the curve with its globally approved solution. M odern times have brought larger ships, increasing speed and load size across vast bodies of water. But there are drawbacks. Thousands of invasive aquatic species spread via ballast water from one waterway to the next, infiltrating new territories and causing significant harm to the environment, and, potentially, human health. To tackle the problem, efforts began in 2004 to establish ballast water treatment regulations. By 2024, it will be compulsory for all ships to use ballast water treatments, with several stages of compliance to be met ahead of this deadline. PureBallast 3, the third generation of Alfa Laval’s chemical-free ballast water WALLENIUS MARINE HAS used PureBallast on all of its newbuildings since the first generation was introduced on AIDA in 2006. Twelve years on, the third generation is successfully being installed on the new HERO-class vessels. “PureBallast 3 is even more energy efficient than before, and provides improved control systems for easier operation onboard,” says Urban Lishajko, Head of Ship Design, Newbuilding & Innovation. “To have a treatment process free from added chemicals is very important to us, not only for the environmental footprint, but also for the associated costs, handling and working conditions onboard.” treatment system, is the first solution to meet the revised G8 testing requirements, and it is type-approved by IMO as well as by the U.S. Coast Guard. “We’ve been developing ballast water treatment systems for over fifteen years, and the legislative and industry changes we’ve been anticipating for so long are now upon us,” says Anders Lindmark, MD of AlfaWall. “We’re pleased to be in a market-leading position with PureBallast 3 at a time when ship owners have to decide which water treatment system to opt for in order to be compliant with global regulations,” continues Lindmark. Anders Lindmark THE LATEST ADDITION to the fivestrong PureBallast 3 family is the mighty 1,500 m3/h UV reactor, optimized for 50% more flow than the next size down (1,000 m3/h). It’s carefully engineered to handle large ballast water flows with even greater efficiency, while enabling streamlined and cost-effective configurations for tankers and other types of vessels. “We’ve worked hard to strengthen our global service network, with the aim of providing support for our customers to be compliant with the PureBallast systems for the lifetime of the vessels,” says Lindmark. “We’re in the process of extending our service division, with an extra 100 dedicated service engineers globally, to offer clients a high level of system-support whenever they may need it.” Urban Lishajko Invasive species and their impact Thousands of invasive species are transferred daily via ballast water, causing damage to the environment in various ways – often with social and economic impact, and sometimes affecting human health. The highly adaptable European Green Crab has displaced native crabs, and continues to deplete many other species in territories as far-ranging as southern Australia, South Africa, Japan and the US. 16 OUR WAY SHIPPING