The first of Damen’s new LoFlo ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) has been delivered for installation in January 2016. The LoFlo 60 will be fitted on board the Royal Netherlands Navy’s (RNLN) submarine support ship and torpedo tender HNLMS Mercuur (A900), as part of a maintenance and refit programme currently underway at Damen Shipyards Den Helder in the Netherlands.
The timing of the delivery is significant with the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention expected to come into force in November 2016. The result is that all vessels undergoing their IOPP renewal surveys thereafter will need to comply with new ballast water discharge regulations.
The LoFlo product, powered by BioSea, is designed to cater to the needs of smaller vessels with limited space down below. Superyachts, offshore vessels, utility support vessels and auxiliary vessels all fall into this category.
Damen is prepared for the new regulatory environment with LoFlo units capable of treating 30, 60 and 90 mᶟ per hour respectively using filtration and UV, in addition to its larger capacity products. With most BWTS having a capacity of 100 mᶟ per hour or more, the IMO-type approved LoFlo systems ensure that smaller vessels can avoid unnecessarily high investment cost, power consumption and excessive footprints. The systems can be supplied in a compact arrangement mounted on a skid for easy and efficient, ‘plug-and-play’ integration on board the vessel, or they can be installed in a modular arrangement.
In order to provide a full range of BWT retrofit solutions Damen works with selected ballast water management partners Trojan Marinex, BioSea and Evoqua Water Technologies. BWT systems from these makers are IMO-type approved, USCG AMS accepted and are on track for USCG-type approval.
Damen offers comprehensive and cost effective total BWT solutions that cover the entire process of choosing and installation. The stages involved include system selection, survey and 3D scanning, engineering, procurement, installation, commissioning and training.