Navalrocha Shipyard Breaks New Ground with First BWTS project

Portugal’s Navalrocha shipyard has broken new ground after delivering its first BWTS (Ballast Water Treatment System) project.

The Lisbon-based operation completed the installation with technical engineering partner Step Consolidated on the Paxoi bunker tanker, managed by MM Marine Inc.

Navalrocha commercial director Sergio Rodrigues said the landmark project has opened the yard to a major market with five more BWTS projects scheduled for 2020.

“The installation process was carried out during a 16-day drydocking,” he said. “We worked alongside our in-yard partner Step Consolidated to install an Alfa Laval system in the Paxoi. In order to maximise speed and efficiency our engineers fabricated new pipes before the vessel arrived after requesting 3D CAD drawings from the vessel management team. Pre-fabrication work involved anti-corrosion treatment with the application of zinc coating through deep carbonisation. We delivered a wide range of other repair work alongside the BWTS installation including blasting, painting, mechanical work, steel renewal and electrical work. 

“As the global deadline for ballast water treatment compliance closes, this ground-breaking project helps highlight our speed and planning deliver BWTS projects within broader drydocking repair works. We can further deliver ‘on-voyage’ BWTS installations through partner Step Consolidated, which has built a strong portfolio in this sphere, working on large vessels including cargo and bunker vessels, chemical, product and LPG carriers.”

The IMO ballast water management convention limits the concentration of viable marine organisms and certain bacteria in discharged ballast water (the D-2 standard). The great majority of merchant ships will have to install treatment systems to meet that standard. For most existing vessels, the compliance deadline is contingent upon the timing of the first IOPP renewal survey, which could be as early as this month and as late as September 2024.

Step Consolidated CEO Luis Simao said the firm has now completed close to 10 BWTS projects, installing Alfa Laval’s PureBallast 3.1 systems. “The Alfa Laval system we installed in the Paxoi is type approved by the IMO and the US Coast Guard,” he said. “It offers superior performance in all waters – fresh, brackish and marine - saves space in new vessels and simplifies retrofits in legacy fleets. This latest project signals a new era at Navalrocha shipyard and we look forward to supporting its ongoing expansion in the BWTS market.”

Mr Rodrigues said the Paxoi contract caps off a highly active year at the yard recording more than 30 drydock, wet basin and pier-side projects. 

“The first six months of the year brought a great variety of work involving livestock carriers, polar expedition vessels, car-ferries, tugboats, cargo-carriers, cruise ships, sailing vessels,” he said. “The second half saw further expansion in the LPG and product carrier markets along with this major BWTS development. In the coming weeks Naval Rocha will release details of another highly prestigious project win further opening the yard to new markets and helping drive our ambitious 2020 expansion plans.”

MM Marine operates one of the world’s largest fleets of high-specification bunkering tankers ranging from inland waterway barges to ocean-going offshore bunkering tankers.