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.
With its range of ballast water treatment solutions, Damen is ready to meet the challenges ahead. 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.
Gert-Jan Oude Egberink, Manager Ballast Water Treatment Systems at Damen, commented: “We’re delighted to see the first of our LoFlo series being prepared for installation. This is all part of the Damen policy of assisting owners in meeting the ballast water management challenges via our worldwide, one-stop-shop BWT retrofitting capability. With our new products we are meeting market requirements for easy, reliable retrofitting within a very short timeframe.”
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.
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Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 32 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 9, 000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 5, 000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 160 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.
Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.
Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.
For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
In addition to ship design and shipbuilding, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has a worldwide network of 15 repair and conversion yards with dry docks ranging up to 420 x 80 metres. Conversion projects range from adapting vessels to today’s requirements and regulations to the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1, 500 repair and maintenance jobs annually.
