A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) has indicated that ballast water treatment system (BWTS) based on mechanical filtration and disinfection with UV and ozone represents a good solution for container vessel retrofits. Both ozone water treatment and UV are excellant disinfection technologies for a wide range of applications.
Maersk says that the containerization of the BWTS is a viable way of overcoming space problems in crowded engine rooms as well as it gives the advantage of easy and short installation time.
The system works in fresh, brackish, or salt water and can provide flow rates up to 500 cubic meters per hour in a 20-foot container or and up to 3,000 cubic meters per hour in a configuration with two 40-foot containers placed on top of each other.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has called on ship owners to adopt treatment technologies to prevent the spread of invasive species, although the 2004 convention on the issue has not yet received enough support to go into force.
Maersk Line is the global containerized division of the A.P. Moller – Maersk Group. The first Maersk Line vessel sailed in 1904 and has become the world’s largest ocean carrier.