Water Treatment Specialists Offer Guidance on new Sewage Requirements  

Water treatment specialists ACO Marine and Corodex/Eflochem, in conjunction with the UAE Branch of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST), have hosted a knowledge sharing session to inform a wide section of the shipping industry on the impact of IMO MEPC 227(64) sewage treatment requirements.

The water treatment experts offered comprehensive guidance on how best to comply with the new international standards and regulations for wastewater management and presented the latest testing technologies for sewage effluent discharge, along with potable and ballast waters.

In his opening address, IMarEST UAE Branch Honorary Secretary Nikeel Idnani provided an overview of the MARPOL Convention relating to ship pollution by way of sewage, besides other contaminants. He explained that “ship technology must be compliant with high standards of safety and quality to minimise dangers for crew, cargo and the environment”. Appropriate systems need to be certified and function properly to mitigate the risk of ships’ detentions by PSC, Flag and class surveyors, he said.

Idnani’s opener was followed by a keynote address from ACO Group Management’s Lukas Kaisler, who updated the 124 delegates on the revised IMO guidelines. The new resolution which supersedes MEPC159(55) is applicable to all sewage treatment plants on new ships and those installed on existing ships after 1 January 2016. What’s more, Section 4.2 of the revised guidelines introduces additional requirements for phosphorous and nitrogen removal on passenger ships operating in IMO Special Areas.

In addition to providing a technical overview of ACO Marine’s membrane and biological type sewage treatment plants, ACO Maripur and ACO Clarimar, both of which are fully type approved to meet MEPC 227(64) requirements, Kaisler highlighted the challenges marine engineers face when treating galley waters with high grease content. “This does need to be separated before entering the sewage treatment plant. To allow effective separation in a grease trap or more efficient grease separator, ACO Marine Galley lifting stations are fitted with eccentric screw pumps to prevent emulsification of the grease during pumping,” he said.

In his presentation A Step Ahead in Testing, Jason Georgiou, Marine Manager Corodex/Eflochem, discussed sewage parameters and potable/ballast water testing with the Primelab multi-tester. He also explored how ineffective water treatment could result in non-compliance with the ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006.

Each presentation was followed by a lively discussion between speakers and delegates, many of whom offered their own experiences and insight into treating wastewater streams onboard ship.

Attendees included representatives from ClassNK, DBV GL, Bureau Veritas, Noah Ship Management, Drydocks World-Dubai, Ocean Wave, McDermott Middle East, Grandweld, Caterpillar Marine, National Iranian Tanker Co, ABB, Gulf Energy Maritime, GAC, Goltens, MSH Ship Management, International Tanker Management and Albwardy Marine Engineering.