Ballast Water Treatment Market Eyeing a Boom

                           Sustainable Oceans & the Ballast Boom

Environment is the fundamental resource providing us with all that we need for survival and economic development. Rights and responsibilities always go together. All of us are entitled to utilize natural resources for survival and development. But then, we are also responsible for preserving the environment. 

Ballast Water Cycle (Source: http://globallast.imo.org/problem.htm)

 

One of the expressions of this shared ecological responsibility is the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, a document that seeks to minimize the toxic effect of ballast water operations on marine ecosystems. 

Standing as it is on the threshold of enactment, the BWM Convention will gain the force of law sooner or later. And when it does, the ballast water treatment industry can look forward to a boom time as about 60,000 vessels begin a scramble to retrofit ballast water management systems (BWMS) aboard ships. 

Reliable estimates expect the industry to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 32.9% during 2013-18 and hit $8.5 billion. While welcome, the optimism is tempered by prudence for the boom may be short lived. Tottering marine ecosystems however can certainly look forward to a whiff of fresh air, dissolved in seawater that is. 

The Mechanics of Ballast Pollution

Ballast water operations are among the four principal hazards to global marine ecosystems. The other three are:

•        over-exploitation of marine flora and fauna
•        land-based sources of marine pollution
•        physical destruction / alteration of the marine habitat

Warsila Ballast Water Management System

(Source: https://www.wartsila.com/media/news/23-01-2019-efficiency-of-wartsila-ballast-water-management-systems-validated-by-strong-demand-2366434

Other threats to marine biodiversity include:

·       climate change

·       oil-gas exploration 

·       inadequate regulatory protection

·       unsustainable tourism

·       maritime accidents, oil spills, and garbage disposal from ships 

·       aquaculture

Stronger and more durable steel hulls replaced wooden hulls about 120 years ago. With this, seawater replaced sand and rocks as ballast. Ballast is critical for the stability and maneuverability of the vessel and for the integrity of the hull. But, ballast water transfers introduced a fresh ecological challenge.

Marine organisms have always taken free rides on ships. But ballast water exchanges multiplied many-fold the number of marine creatures taking free rides. Now, seawater intake and discharge occur at different locations in oceans facilitating a species transfer that spells doom for local ecosystems. 

Then again, shipping traffic has exploded in recent decades and ships presently transport 90% of the globally traded merchandise. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ballast water operations transfer a stunning 3 to 5 billion tons of international waters a year. You can imagine how many million marine creatures that is. 

Wartsila Aquarius^® EC BWMS

(Source: http://www.twentyfour7magazine.com/en/issue/1/2014/#!12)  

Now the BWM Convention comes into force 12 months after 30 countries representing 35% of the global merchant fleet tonnage ratify it. As of October 2014, 43 countries contributing 32.54% of the gross tonnage have ratified it. It is only a question of time before the convention becomes operational.

BBC Research Report: Findings & Implications 

In its report, Ballast Water Treatment: Technologies and Global Markets, BBC Research estimates BWMS installation to peak at 30 BWMS a day or 10,000 a year. After most vessels are BWMS-retrofit, only new-builds, failures, and system upgrades will demand BWMS. The demand may then fall to 5 a day or 2,000 to 3,000 a year. 

These statistics are in sync with the expected alteration in the implementation schedule that may be spread over five years between 2017 and 2021. Earlier, the IMO had called for three-year compliance duration. 

In 2012, the BWMS market was at $1.4 billion. It jumped by 50% to $2.1 billion in 2013. By 2018, it is expected to clock $8.5 billion expanding at a CAGR of 32.9% for the 2013-18 period.  

Now retrofitting a ballast water treatment system is a tailored, lengthy process making shortages a genuine and haunting prospect. BWMS selection criteria includes:

·       onboard power availability

·       existing systems

·       space constraints

·       training and workload of crew

·       sailing routes 

·       ship owner-manager preferences 

Popular Ballast Water Treatment Systems

Better known BWMS include:

·       Wartsila’s Aquarius^® EC (Electro Chlorination) BWMS

·       Optimarin Ballast System (OBS)

·       Evoqua’s SeaCURE^TM BWMS

·       Wartsila’s Aquarius^® UV (Ultra Violet) BWMS

·       BIO-UV’s BIO-SEA^® BWMS

All BWMS employ the following two actions (in that order) for their operations:

·       Separation eliminates larger unwanted elements through filtration or sedimentation

·       Disinfection neutralizes or destroys marine creatures in water employing:

Ø  Chemical Processes such as chlorination

Ø  Physical Actions such as ultraviolet irradiation, ultrasonic treatment, cavitation, heating, or gas injection  

Finally

In nature there are no rewards or punishments, only consequences. The problem is, the consequences are spread across generations. This takes the urgency out of the equation and makes many underestimate the challenge. What we forget is our children face the consequences. Try that as a sleeping pill. 

Geopolitics & the Proposed Thai Canal

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Old Concept, Renewed Interest

Recently, a member of the National Committee for the study of the Thai Canal, Pakdee Tanapura, informed a Thai daily The Nation that the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics was working with the committee for a pre-feasibility study of the canal.

Possible Routes of the Thai Canal

(Source: http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/10/economic-reasons-that-thai-canal-will.html)

Connecting the South China Sea with the Andaman Sea by cutting across Southern Thailand, the canal will lower expected congestion in the Malacca Strait over the next decade. Estimated to cost $20 billion, the canal will be about 100km long and 26m deep.

USS Little Rock & the Geopolitics of Asia Pacific

A Fast & Lethal Vessel Named Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)

Launch of the USS Little Rock (LCS-9)

(Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/new-navy-ship/)

“LCS is a fast, agile, focused-mission platform designed for operation in near-shore (littoral) environments yet capable of open-ocean operation. It is designed to defeat asymmetric ‘anti access’ threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines, and fast surface craft”. So says a U.S. Navy fact file on LCS.

Just recently, LCS made news when USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) sailed in the South China Sea where the Chinese are building facilities on the Spratly Islands, a group of islands claimed by China, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brunei. Apparently, U.S. and Chinese interests are not completely aligned in Asia-Pacific.

 

Maritime Oil Spills: A Disaster in Decline

Oil Tankers: An Essential Commodity

For a world used to doomsday theories, here is a whiff of fresh, green air. Maritime oil spills have rapidly decimated in the past quarter century despite the steady increase in oil trading since the mid-1980s. 2014 recorded the lowest number of spills in the last 25 years.

Firefighting @ Oil Spill Fire

(Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/8812598/10-largest-oil-spills-in-history.html)

Since 1970, the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) records statistics on accidental oil spills from tankers, barges, and combined carriers. The ITOPF however does not maintain a database of spills caused by acts of war.

Maritime oil spills are an environmental disaster with the effects lingering on for decades. Plus they are bad for the economy and wreck havoc on the tourism industry. Regulators, government, and the industry deserve accolades for creating and maintaining high operational standards for maritime oil transport.

The Fundamentals of Cutting Fluid Mechanics

Working Fluids (MWFs)

Back in 1990, newspapers in Iowa reported a milky-white, oily substance that someone had covertly dumped in the southeast-side storm sewer. Reports also said the substance did not pose any danger to the water supply near Emerald Avenue SE and 32nd Street Drive.  

Authorities had nevertheless cited regulations that required the offender party to pay hefty penalties. Investigators later identified the whitish, innocuous looking culprit as waste cutting fluid alias metal working fluid (MWF) alias coolant.

Now, MWFs are an inseparable part of machining operations such as cutting, milling, and grinding, for they maintain the temperature of the workpiece and the tools while also flushing away the unacceptables born out of machining.

Most cutting fluids are water soluble and, with use, get loaded with chips, fines, swarfs, oils, greases, and microbes. Through all this, they lose their desired properties and have to be disposed. Nothing dubious about this. 

Iloilo City Universities & Colleges which Offer Marine Engineering/Transportation Courses

Facade of the First Maritime University in the Philippines

John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University – Molo Campus

“The Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering is a higher education degree program that deals with the study of marine propulsion system, its operation and maintenance as well as controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board at the operational level of marine engineering. “

John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University – Arevalo Campus

“The Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation is a degree involves a 3 year Theoretical Academic studies in its Arevalo campus and a 12 month apprenticeship period on vessels either of near sea or international trade. This is the preparatory course for Deck Officers, for the country's merchant marine fleet. It is supervised by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The course offering has been accredited by Det Norke Veritas (DNV), Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACU-COA) and recognized by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate (NMD).”

Univeristy of Iloilo - PHINMA

" The Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering provides its students with the knowledge and skills for the operation of ship engines and machinery, and the maintenance of the ship’s electrical machines."

Iloilo Science and Technology University 

Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering

Western Institute of Technology

Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering

 St. Therese – MTC Colleges – Tigbauan Site

Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation

Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering

St. Therese – MTC Colleges – Magdalo Site

Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation

Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering

.

Reference:

http://www.jblfmu.edu.ph/molo-academic-programs

http://www.jblfmu.edu.ph/arevalo-undergraduate-and-academic-programs

http://www.finduniversity.ph/universities/western-institute-of-technology/courses/engineering/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Therese_%E2%80%93_MTC_colleges

http://ui.phinma.edu.ph/home/academics/tertiary-education/

Sonardyne’s Syrinx Doppler Velocity Log (DVL)

Sonardyne into a Class of its Own

Sonardyne International Ltd., UK launched its Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) at the Ocean Business Exhibition at Southampton during April 14-16, 2015. Syrinx is Sonardyne’s first Doppler Velocity Log (DVL).

Sonardyne’s Syrinx DVL

(Source: http://www.sonardyne.com/news-a-events/all-news-articles/1265-sonardyne-launches-new-syrinx-doppler-velocity-log.html)

This is the latest addition to Sonardyne’s portfolio of acoustic devices. The company claims it is the only organization to offer inertial navigation, acoustic positioning, and DNV technologies at a single location.  

Sonardyne is a market leader in subsea inertial and acoustic navigation systems. A product of major investment by the company aimed to build the industry’s best 600kHz DVL, Syrinx is the logical evolution of Sonardyne’s existing SPRINT and 6G product lines.

Syrinx specifically addresses the needs of subsea and surface vessels needing high integrity and high performance navigation-aiding over diverse seabed types and water depths. A combination of numerous features makes it an ideal navigation instrument for Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).

Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs) & their Recent Advances

Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs) have been used for over a decade now to collect and provide navigation data to ships, AUVs, ROVs, and human occupied vehicles (HOVs). Hitherto, DVLs could be used only on large underwater platforms such as large AUVs, work-class ROVs, and HOVs on account of their considerable sizes and weights.

Technical Data

Feature	Performance
Operating Frequency	600Hz
Long Term Accuracy	±0.1cm/s / ±0.2%
Standard Deviation: @ 1m/s @ 3m/s @ 5m/s	±0.2cm/s ±0.5cm/s ±0.6cm/s
Maximum Altitude	140m
Minimum Altitude	0.5m
Depth Rating	3,000m, 4,000m, or 6,000m
Data Output Rates (Max)	10Hz
Transit Power (Max)	218dB
Voltage Range	24V (±10%)
Communications	Concurrent RS232 & Ethernet
Internal Logging	64GB Internal Memory
Housing Material	Aluminum / Titanium

Recently however sensor manufacturers have cut down the sizes and weights of commercial off the shelf (COTS) DVLs to an extent that they can be installed and used aboard mini-ROVs.

DVLs typically use multiple transducers to measure velocity by employing water column tracking or bottom tracking. The readings are then integrated to arrive at relative displacements.

These relative displacements are then placed within the broader context of real world coordinate system through pitch, heading, and rolling sensors to calculate absolute displacement in relation to the geographical coordinate system.

DVL systems are a great way to create self contained navigation solutions to be used as input data for subsea dynamic position control mechanisms or to be used in confined access settings.

Syrinx Doppler Velocity Log (DVL): Technical & Other Details

Syrinx is available in 3,000m and 6,000m versions. For modern work-class ROVs, Sonardyne offers a 4,000m version in titanium. Users can operate, configure, and test the DVL while visualizing the data on account of an embedded web server run by the unit.

Highest In-class Precision by Combining 300kHz with 1,200kHz

(Source: http://www.sonardyne.com/products/all-products/instruments/1254-doppler-velocity-log-syrinx.html)

Configuration software is not necessary because Syrinx is connected and configured through a web browser. Chief features include:

·         Extremely Low Noise & High Precision Velocity Measurements across Diverse Depths & Numerous Challenging Seabed Types by employing the adaptive bottom lock in combination with full linear signal processing

Plus, Syrinx’s signal processing system can output data continuously at very high rates when operating at very low altitudes of less than 1m. The device is highly reliable, consistent and can navigate at high altitudes as a 300kHz DVL can and provide high resolution performance as a 1,200kHz DVL can

·         Savings in Cost & Vehicle Payload Space by virtue of its dual output capability. Syrinx can operate as part of an integrated navigation system, as a standalone DVL, or as a combination of both

Pilots and survey teams can both share output from the Syrinx when it operates in the dual mode through concurrent Ethernet and serial output capability at ping rates of up to 10Hz. Only one DVL/altitude sensor is needed for the survey crews and for ROV control

·         Rapid & Cost-Effective Service & Repairs by having individually replaceable transducers

DVLs are usually installed at the bottom-end of the vessel that makes transducers vulnerable to damage. Repairs normally mean replacing the entire transducer assembly even if only one transducer is damaged

Reprocessing & Visualization of Data through Software

(Source: http://www.sonardyne.com/products/all-products/instruments/1254-doppler-velocity-log-syrinx.html) 

·         Simple Installation, Setup, & Use as the Syrinx DVL can be fitted to the mounting brackets of existing instruments. Syrinx supports the industry standard PD4 and PD5 telegrams for smooth integration with navigation systems made by other manufacturers

Integrating Syrinx DVL with Sonardyne’s SPRINT Inertial Navigation system (INS) provides highest-quality DVL-aided navigation. The combination enables improved velocity prediction and outlier rejection by optimizing the two-way communication between these devices

Outlier is a point of observation far off from other observations. For DVLs, detection and rejection of such outlier observations drastically improves the accuracy of data and therefore of navigation

Finally

Sonardyne’s clients can look forward to immense commercial, technological, and support benefits with the company starting to supply diverse automated navigation technology under one roof.