BAWAT, the Danish manufacturer of a unique opex-neutral ballast water treatment system, has been granted IMO Type Approval for its technology that uses only a ship’s own waste heat to kill off invasive species.
Type Approval certification has been issued by Lloyd’s Register on behalf of the Danish Maritime Authority and makes the BAWAT system one of the first to be tested and issued with approval under the new toughened mandatory requirements of the IMO’s BWMS Code, officially known as the “Code for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems.”
BAWAT’s system design is unique in using a vessel’s own waste heat from the main engine or other heat sources to neutralise through pasteurisation any organisms in the ballast water.
By using pasteurisation the BAWAT system can be used to treat ballast water in all water conditions, regardless of salinity, turbidity and temperatures, and has no holding time restrictions. Water is treated in one pass only.
The system is also unique as components such as the heat exchangers and pumps are all standard components found onboard vessels today, and therefor well known to crew.
A third defining difference with the BAWAT system compared with others is the ability to do in-voyage treatment, thus a vessel’s cargo and ballasting operations are not impacted due to slow water treatment.
The simplicity and effectiveness of the BAWAT system have impressed new investors who have backed BAWAT as it prepares to begin installing systems on both newbuilds and retrofits.
Under the IMO’s ballast water convention all vessels need to have a ballast water treatment system onboard to be able to meet what are known as the D2 standards. All newbuilding vessels need to enter service with a system installed and operational, and all existing vessels will in the coming years be required to have systems retrofitted as they have their certificates renewed.
About BAWAT
BAWAT was formed in 2011 as a Danish family led business. It has expanded and recently secured more than DKK20m in additional funding from new and existing shareholders.
Main shareholders today include the Hummer family, Selfinvest Family Office and Shipping professional Klaus Nyborg.