Safe Bulkers to install Erma First’s ballast water treatment system

The Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and entered into force on 8 September 2017. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had adopted similar regulation for ballast water treatment effective on 1 January 2016. Both organisations have provided certain extensions for BWTS installation for various reasons including type approval.

Erma First BWTS became the first full flow electrolysis system worldwide, that received the US Coast Guard (the USCG) type approval certificate in October 2017. The company has cooperated with Erma First intensively the previous months to optimise and adapt the system in company’s vessels.

First installation of Erma First BWTS is expected to take place in Safe Bulker’s next dry-docking scheduled for 1Q18. The installation on all of its vessels and related capital expenditure is expected to be expanded over a period of five years according to company’s dry-docking schedule.

Loukas Barmparis, President of Safe Bulkers, commented: “We decided to install in all our vessels Erma First BWTS, which is designed and produced in Greece, starting at an early stage which provides us with certain commercial and financial advantages, including availability of equipment, minimisation of down time, unrestricted worldwide trading the following years and the financial benefits of a block order”.

Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/shipping/09112017/safe-bulkers-to-install-erma-firsts-ballast-water-treatment-system/