Technology group Wärtsilä will supply its Aquarius UV ballast water management system (BWMS) for four bunkering ocean tanker vessels operated by Doorae Shipping, the first ever BWMS retrofit contract signed by Wärtsilä in Korea.

The order was placed in July by PanStar TechSolution, the main contractor for the project and will allow the vessels to be compliant with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Ballast Water Management Convention.

“The design of the Wärtsilä BWMS solutions provides maximum flexibility during system design and installation,” said Woo Ho Yoo, general manager, services, Wärtsilä Korea.

“Key components are positioned to suit available space, which is a major advantage in retrofit projects such as this. We already work closely with Doorae Shipping because of the maintenance agreement we have with them, and we are very pleased to have been selected against tough competition to supply the BWMS solutions,” he added.

The Wärtsilä Aquarius UV BWMS is based on a two-stage treatment process. Upon uptake, seawater is first passed through a back washing screen type filter. The filtered seawater then passes through a chamber where ultra-violet light is used to disinfect the water before entering the ballast tank. On discharge, water from the ballast tank is pumped through the UV chamber for a second time to complete the disinfection process prior to discharge.

The system has been granted US Coastguard type approval and is scheduled for delivery in August 2020.