Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) Installation & Retrofit

A BWTS retrofit is the installation of a ballast water treatment system on a ship that is already in service. It covers the equipment seatings, new pipe spools tied into the existing ballast lines, the valves and flow meter, power and control cabling, and checks before start-up, all planned around the vessel’s existing layout. We carry out BWTS retrofits in Dubai and across the UAE.

Ships covered by the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention, which entered into force on 8 September 2017, must meet the D-2 discharge standard. Existing ships were brought in at their IOPP renewal surveys, with the phase-in ending on 8 September 2024. In practice, ships that take on and discharge ballast water on international voyages need an approved treatment system.

D-1 is ballast water exchange: replacing at least 95% of the ballast water at sea. D-2 is a performance standard that limits the number of viable organisms in the discharged water, which in practice means treating the water with an approved system. D-2 has replaced D-1 for ships under the Convention.

Most UV systems work in two steps. An automatic self-cleaning filter first removes larger organisms and sediment as ballast water is taken on. The water then passes through a UV reactor, where ultraviolet lamps damage the DNA of the remaining bacteria, algae and other organisms so they cannot reproduce. No chemicals are added to the water.

The complete installation by our own team: fabrication of the pipe spools, headers, flanges, equipment seatings and supports; piping tie-in to the ship’s ballast system, with the valves, actuators and flow meter; and the complete electrical installation, from power supply and cabling to control wiring and connection of the system’s panels.

Yes. If you have not bought a system yet, we can supply it as well as install it, so one company is responsible for the equipment and the installation. If you already have a system, we install it.

Every installation is quoted on its own. The price depends on the system’s treatment capacity and type, how much new pipework and cabling the vessel needs, the space in the engine room, whether the work is done in dry dock or afloat, and whether we supply the system as well. Send the vessel and system details and we will quote the job.

The overall project, from choosing the system to drawings, approval and delivery, usually takes a few months. The installation on board is a shorter part of it and depends on the amount of pipework, fabrication and cabling. We give a programme with the quote.

Often, yes. Compact and modular systems are made for retrofits, and the pipework and seatings are fabricated to suit the space available. We check the space, pipe routes and cable routes on board before we quote.

The system maker and model if one has been chosen, the treatment capacity or ballast pump flow rate in m³/h, the vessel type and size, approved installation drawings if you have them, photos of the engine room space, and where and when the vessel will be available.

A BWTS system on a ship treats ballast water so organisms are not carried between ports. In a filtration and UV system, the water is filtered as it is taken on board to remove larger organisms and sediment, then passed through UV reactors. On discharge it is treated again where the system requires it. The system runs from its own control panel and is tied into the ship’s ballast pumps and valves.