Maersk unveils novel way ships can deliver fresh water to parched ports

Three Maersk employees, all former seafarers, have come up with a system to deliver fresh water from vessels to ports. 

The project optimises an existing fresh water generation system onboard container vessels to further store and deliver it in tank containers to ports and regions facing scarcity of fresh water.

Fresh water scarcity is an increasing problem faced by regions all over the world. 4bn people — almost two-thirds of the world’s population — experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year, and half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025, according to projections from the United Nations. 

Cargo ships undertaking global trade are equipped with fresh water generator systems that produce clean drinking water by distilling sea water using heat energy harnessed from their engines. Traditionally, this system has been used to generate water for consumption only onboard the vessels. However, the excess water produced has been overlooked. Through this new project, this untapped resource has been capitalised on by optimising the process and storing the excess water in tank containers before delivering it to ports.

Each vessel can fill two tank containers on an average sea voyage between two ports. With the process optimised and tank containers stored at the right location onboard, two tank containers with a combined capacity of 50,000 litres can be filled with fresh water. Amongst the first pilot runs were the deliveries at the Port of Colombo and Port of Salalah of two tank containers, each filled with 25,000 litres of fresh water. The water quality, tested by the Ceylon Institute of Scientific & Industrial Research, an official Sri Lankan government laboratory, met all World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.

“This project opens doors for many more ships moving around the world, which can replicate this system and create an incredibly large supply of fresh water that is being delivered all around the world to address the ever-increasing challenge of water scarcity,” Maersk stated in a release.