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Ready for a New Day?

Published Jun 8, 2011 4:29 PM by The Maritime Executive

DESMI has spent the last few years during the slow pace of securing new building contracts to put themselves in the best possible position preparing for the future. Everything is moving forward and new demands are made both by authorities and by customers. Some of these demands are easy to predict and adopt while others are more difficult foresee. DESMI is monitoring the day-to-day demands in order to offer the best possible pump systems and solutions which will support clients in all parts of the marine world including authorizes, designers, shipyards, owners and everything else in between.

Some of the most common demands from shipping customers have always included cost efficiency, and during the past years this demand has increased and turned into a Total Cost of Ownership ((TCO) demand, and in some cases followed by the vision to reduce CO2 and emissions from the World’s fleets.

In the light of this DESMI introduced the DESMI OptiSaveTM concept during 2009 which is a cost saving system helping ship owners reducing engine room pump costs. If pressure and/or capacity can be adjusted compared to design and actual demand, a potential saving can be achieved on fuel, money and CO2. One of the obvious choices where to install DESMI OptiSaveTM is in the central sea water cooling pumps. These pumps are running full capacity every day during the vessel’s lifetime, no matter the temperature of the seawater, and not considering the load on the fresh water cooling system.

DESMI OptiSaveTM is measuring the actual demand and adjusts the pumps accordingly. This enables the owner to save the energy that was previously “pumped overboard”.

In other words DESMI OptiSaveTM helps owners and shipyards to meet the increasing demands of a greener and more energy efficient shipping business.

Facts:

  • The seawater cooling pumps are using approximately 10% of the power produced by the auxiliary engines when the vessel is in open sea.
  • A 50kW pump is using approximate 50.000 USD of fuel each year when running 24/7.
  • DESMI OptiSaveTM will provide savings up to 85% of the design value.

 

When looking into the future, one of the global challenges which all ship owners have to force is the issue of Ballast Water Treatment Systems. Everybody knows that it is a coming topic, many are considering different systems, a few have already installed a system, but common for all involved parties is that they do not have the full overview of how the installation of the thousands of systems which have to be put in operation when the IMO rules are coming into force will progress. Not to mention the STEP programme set up by the US coast guard.
DESMI is a player on the Ballast Water Treatment market too. DESMI has set up a joint venture together with a well-established and known ship owner and an engineering company specialized in water treatment. The result is the company called DESMI Ocean Guard.

DESMI Ocean Guard is offering is a three-step system for the treatment of ballast water. First step is filtration, second is UV light, and third is injection of ozone which has been produced by the UV light. On the whole a simple system which is also simple to operate and no chemicals have to be added! This secures a killing factor high enough to comply not only with the IMO rules, but also with the rules outlined by the STEP programme.

The system is just about to pass its vessel-based test, after a successful full scale land based test has been performed, and it is expected to be ready for sale and installation within the next year. DESMI expects the physical installation on board to become the biggest challenge when the existing world fleet has to have a Ballast Water Treatment system onboard. While the final approval is being processed, DESMI is setting up the organization which will be able to take care of the full installation of the DESMI Ocean Guard systems. DESMI says that there is no problem in making a Ballast Water Treatment system and sell it, but the fact that most of the future systems in the beginning have to be installed in already existing vessels, will require a great deal of engineering work, know-how and experience. DESMI’s Project Department is already prepared to face these challenges, due to their long-lasting experience on the marine market. The same DESMI Project Department will also be responsible for the installation of DESMI OptiSaveTM, and other DESMI products.

It is easier to tell what has happened in the past, than to predict what will happen in the future, but DESMI has a long history and a great deal of experience. This provides a solid foundation on which our clients can depend when facing new challenges. DESMI will know what to do and how to handle the requirements no matter whether they come from shipping customers, authorities or somebody else.