EuropeMaritime CEOTech

Cathelco: Unique BWT offering

Chesterfield: UK firm Cathelco today announced news it is supplying a ballast water treatment (BWT) system for a new offshore vessel built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group for Harvey Gulf International Marine.

The Harvey Stone (Hull 234), a Rampage 6400 multi-purpose field support vessel (MPFSV), with a length of 64.8m and 18m beam, is due to be delivered in in the second quarter.

The Cathelco BWT system is based on a combination of filtration and UV technology and has a capacity of 150m3/hr.

The Cathelco system received IMO Type Approval in May 2014 and went on to gain AMS Acceptance from the US Coast Guard a few months later.

The company is one of the few BWT system manufacturers using UV technology that has no restrictions on the salinities in which ships can operate in US waters.

The space-saving UV chambers are some of the smallest on the market. Each unit is a twin chamber with only two lamps (100m3/hr per lamp) and is designed to make the sea water flow along one side and then the other – doubling UV exposure. In addition, the manifolds make the water flow in a helix, ensuring that the maximum surface area is exposed to the UV light source.

“The Cathelco BWT system operates effectively in salt, brackish and freshwater which means that there are no restrictions on areas where vessels can operate,” says Justin Salisbury, the firm’s managing director. “Another important factor,” he says, “is that the system functions in the most challenging water conditions where high levels of silt are present. These features are not unique, but they do give our system the edge on some others.”

Cathelco produces marine growth protection systems for pipework, ICCP hull corrosion protection systems and various types of desalinators in addition to BWT equipment.

“There are a number of projects in the pipeline,” Salisbury says, “but one that can be mentioned is the development of a hull corrosion protection system that can be used in fresh water as an alternative to sacrificial anode systems. This would be environmentally friendly as it would not involve releasing heavy metals into rivers and lakes.”

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