Mobile Ballast Water Treatment Deck Connector Approved

UniBallast BV has received a Rina Class Type approval for UniBallast’s Universal Ballast Water Port Connector (UBPC). This deck connector allows ships to connect to a mobile containerized ballast water treatment facility on shore or on deck.

Retro-fitting a complete ballast water treatment system on a vessel isn’t always the best way forward. Having a containerized unit on deck or treat the ballast water with a shore based installation might be a better solution. That’s why Royal Roos and Dunacon started a company focusing solely on ballast water treatment solutions: UniBallast. As a first assignment the engineers from UniBallast developed the UBPC. This innovation in ballast water treatment (BWT) means ballast water can be transferred to a mobile facility for treatment anywhere in the world.

With the IACS-type approved UBPC, it is possible to comply fully with the ballast water management convention and the US Coast Guard ballast water discharge rule – without the expense of fitting an on-board treatment system. Whatever the ballast pump capacity, UBPC has a flow rate to match.

Far more affordable than conventional systems, the class type approved UBPC is easy to install and simple to use. Besides the UBPC, UniBallast also develops customized mobile containers and skids complete with an in-built BWT unit which can be transported by air and sea.

In addition to the UBPC, UniBallast provides cost effective solutions for ballast water management and will help find the right solutions for an individual vessel or for a whole fleet. The company will provide a full quote which will set out all the costs right through the lifetime of the system, including operation and maintenance. UniBallast can assist in the whole process from on board survey up till the installation and commissioning in dock or while sailing on board.

An online selection tool is available to help select the best BWT system for a ship’s specific requirements out of all existing type-approved BWT systems in the market. UniBallast is not linked to any manufacturer of BWT systems and therefore independent in its advice.

Fulko Roos - owner of Royal Roos and co-owner of UniBallast - explains: “We are a proponent of BWT and have been working on a cost effective and easy to use solution on BWT for existing vessels for some time now. At Europort 2013 we first presented our UBPC, which gained a lot of positive attention. The class type approval is a confirmation of our effort. We are also pleased that a company such as Damen is now introducing its mobile BWT unit on the market. This gives a new impulse to the awareness and the market for BWT. ”