MEM48

MEM
MARINE ENGINEERS MESSENGER
MEM Issue 48
22 January 2018
Telegraph
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ESMI Ocean Guard confirmed as this edition was about to published that a contract for fleet-wide supply of
CompactClean Ballast Water Management Systems has been finalised with Turkey’s MISHA Shipping. The
contract includes delivery of 10 CompactClean BWMS in sizes from 340 to 750m3/h. The first system is to be
delivered later in 2018.
MISHA Shipping, a privately held Turkish company with both shipping and shipyard activities, will install the
BWMS on its shallow-draught dry cargo vessels primarily designed for operations in Russian inland waters,
Black Sea and Mediterranean ports, as well as a new generation of sea-river vessels optimised for navigation in
Volga and Don channels and unrestricted navigation at sea.
MISHA went through a thorough selection process before the CompactClean system was chosen. According
to the shipowner: “It was quite a challenge for us to study and compare various types and brands of ballast
water treatment systems to be fitted on our entire fleet. Million dollar investment means no room for mistakes.
“Initially we have studied pros and cons between UV systems and Electro-chlorination systems and ended
up with UV types which do not have any salinity or temperature limitations since our fleet sails into rivers and
icy waters. Then it was a long process to deeply analyze various UV systems both with low pressure and
medium pressure lamp technologies.”
MISHA assessed reliability, ease of operation, CAPEX and OPEX, and system footprint before making the
decision. In a statement posted on it website late last year, the owner stated: “There are many BWMS makers in
the market popped up like mushrooms to get some shares from the big cake of about 65000 ships those need to
install BWTS within 3 to 4 years. Afterwards all these makers will need to survive only with new building
projects. One can easily estimate that the majority of them will disappear within not a very long time frame.
Having more than 180 years of history, we rely on DESMI to be in the market also in the future.
“We believe that it is much easier to install a new system onboard a ship then operating it smoothly when
you leave it to the hands of ship’s crew. Especially if it may turn out to be the risk of heavy penalties for the ship
owner. One of the features of DESMI’s CompactClean system that we really like is the dry-running protection
backed up with a recirculation system by the backflush pump which comes standard and can also be used as a
stripping pump during stripping of ballast tanks; means much less risk of interruption during de-ballasting
operations.”
From the cost perspective the owner said: “A cheaper initial price tag may attract many people but then
operating the system may cost you much more. Since all of these BWM systems are certified as complete
system, you will be in the mercy of the maker for the remaining 20 or more years of operation. When we make
our price comparison we also take into account the total cost of energy consumption and cost of all spare parts
from the cheapest o-rings to the expensive filter baskets need to be replaced within the next 15 years of
operation. We can say that DESMI is found as one of the most fair companies when it the comes to the cost of
the spare parts.”
“Our ships are on specific trade which requires very low air draft, means highly congested engine room with
lack of space. It is also another challenge for us to install BWMS to our older fleet those will require almost
complete rearrangement of ballast piping and replacement of existing ballast pumps. We found DESMI’s
CompactClean system having one of the smallest foot print in the market, fits perfectly into our crowded engine
rooms.”
The CompactClean BWMS is currently undergoing type approval testing according to both IMO and USCG
requirements, under the surveillance of Lloyd’s Register. It is expected that type approval certificates will be in
hand around June/July 2018.
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