ERMA FIRST is bringing the world’s smallest and easiest to install ballast water treatment (BWT) system to the international market through its acquisition of US firm oneTANK LLC.
oneTANK has developed a small scale innovative, low-cost, IMO Revised G8 Code and United States Coast Guard compliant system.
Based on a patented mixing technology developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the system can be installed in larger vessels’ aftpeak tanks.
It is also suitable for use aboard workboats, tugboats, semi-submersibles, fishing vessels and superyachts.
The technology is already being adopted on ships in aftpeak tanks within Overseas Shipholding Group’s tanker fleet and on the trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) MV Charlock in the Netherlands.
ERMA FIRST Managing Director, Konstantinos Stampedakis , said: “This is a game-changing ballast water treatment technology. It is compact, simple-to-use, and fully automated. It delivers a quick to install additional solution for small ballast tanks on big ships as well as a stand-alone solution for small vessels such as yachts, tugs and offshore support vessels.”
oneTANK treats ballast water within the vessel’s ballast tank and has no filters, ultra-violet lamps or electrolytic chlorine generators. Its footprint is only 600mm x 600mm.
The system uses an 8.25% or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite (bleach) and 30% sodium thiosulfate solution – readily available chemicals that can be purchased from suppliers worldwide, concluded ERMA FIRST.