BIO-UV EYES CRUISESHIP RETROFIT MARKET AS FIRST GENERATION BWTS NOW INCOMPATIBLE WITH U.S ITINERARIES
French UV-based treatment specialist BIO-UV Group has secured a contract with Columbia Cruise Services to retrofit a BIO-SEA ballast water treatment system to the cruiseship Europa.
Installation and commissioning will take place during the vessel’s scheduled drydocking at the Blohm+Voss yard in Hamburg, this September.
A modular BIO-SEA B01-0085 system with an 85m3/h flow rate will replace a competitor’s first-generation UV-type ballast water system currently installed on the 28,890gt vessel.
With Europa set to call at San Francisco next year, the competitor system needs to be replaced with a system compliant with US Coast Guard requirements.
Ludovic Rouzel, BWT Contracts Manager, BIO-UV Group, said: “We are delighted that Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, through Columbia, has opted to retrofit BIO-SEA to this vessel, our first reference with this cruise line.
“Operators of cruiseships fitted with first-generation BWTS technology and which are revising their cruise itineraries to include US ports of call will need to upgrade (when possible) or replace these systems with USCG-approved units before they can enter US waters. We are discussing similar retrofit projects with a number of cruise lines.”
In March, BIO-UV Group successfully completed the retrofitting of a modular 450m3/h capacity BIO-SEA unit aboard the CMI-operated 22,400gt cruiseship Deutschland, which sails as World Odyssey from September until April each year.
“This was a very successful project for BIO-UV Group which worked closely with CMI and Damen Shipyards from the outset,” said Rouzel, adding: “This was CMI Shipmanagement’s first experience of a BWTS retrofit but the installation and commissioning went very smoothly.”
Since its market introduction in 2013, BIO-UV Group has supplied some 187 BIO-SEA units to an array of ship types, including cruiseships, ferries, mega-yachts, containerships, fishing and offshore support vessels, dredgers, and cable layers.
It is the expansive cruiseship market that BIO-UV Group has particular focus on, however, having already established a solid reputation for system reliability, performance and cost-efficiency in the segment.
Xavier Deval, BIO-SEA Business Director, said: “According to analysts, the number of cruiseships is set to increase from the 314 vessels currently in service to more than 550 vessels by 2027. The emergent expedition cruise sector also provides significant opportunities for BIO-SEA’s smaller capacity units with flow rates between 10 and 90m3/h.
“We also anticipate strong growth in the retrofit market as operators begin to replace non-compliant first-generation systems with those that are approved to meet USCG and IMO D8 standards.”
Earlier this year, the French water treatment specialist signed contracts for skid-mounted BIO-SEA 300 m3/h capacity units for installation to four Meraviglia-class and four World-class vessels building for MSC Cruises.
BIO-UV Group will also supply BIO-SEA 300 m3/h capacity units for installation to Celebrity Cruises’ four Edge-class cruiseships, the first of which, Celebrity Edge, is now in service. Chantiers de l’Atlantique take delivery of the BIO-SEA unit for the fourth vessel in the series early next year.