Optimarin enables Subsea7 USCG upgrade in ‘a couple of hours’
Optimarin has demonstrated how easy it is for existing Optimarin Ballast Systems (OBS) to be upgraded to full USCG compliance with a visit onboard Subsea7’s Seven Pacific, the company said in a press release.
The ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist, the first manufacturer to achieve USCG approval in December 2016, originally installed its UV-based technology onboard the advanced offshore construction and pipe-laying vessel in 2015. Since that point the 667-m3 market proven system has, according to Seven Pacific Chief Engineer Oddgeir Refvik, been running smoothly, with minimal maintenance and easy operation.
Refvik described the upgrade as “very straightforward”.
“It only took a couple of hours to perform,” he explains, “basically being a software modification. The service engineer brought an updated manual and information plate onboard, upgraded the software and then took us through the changes. That was it. We can now easily change the operation mode of our Optimarin BWT system between IMO or USCG mode.”
Optimarin has been exclusively focused on BWT technology since the company’s formation in 1994, installing the world’s first commercial system in 2000. This lengthy expertise has allowed the team to create and refine a solution that is simple, flexible and reliable, based on powerful 35kw UV lamps and filtration to eliminate all potentially invasive organisms carried in ballast water.
Optimarin has now sold close to 700 OBS units, with more than 500 installed and operational, of which approximately 250 are retrofits. The Norwegian-headquartered firm has performed around 50 of the simple USCG upgrades to existing systems so far.
Alongside full IMO and USCG compliance, OBS has certification from a comprehensive range of classification organizations, including ABS, BV, DNV-GL, LR & MLIT Japan. Current customers include Fednav, GulfMark, Hapag Lloyd, Matson Navigation, McDermott, MOL, Ardmore, Seatruck, Technip, and the Royal Netherlands Navy, amongst others.