PureBallast, Alfa Laval’s unique and chemical-free system for ballast water treatment, has already demonstrated its suitability for a wide range of vessel types. Now Alfa Laval has received the first order for PureBallast 2500, the largest version of the system, to be installed aboard the prestigious arctic drillship Stena DrillMAX ICE.
Alfa Laval continues to experience a wave of orders for PureBallast, having now received a groundbreaking order for the largest PureBallast system to date. Featuring a flow rate of 2500 m3/h, the PureBallast 2500 system will provide more than double the capacity of any previous PureBallast version. This makes it not only the largest PureBallast system, but also one of the largest ballast water treatment systems of any kind to be sold.
The order, which places Alfa Laval among just a handful suppliers entrusted for massive-capacity treatment, comes from Samsung Heavy Industries on behalf of Stena Drilling Ltd. The PureBallast system will be delivered in June 2010 to the Geoje shipyard, where it will be installed aboard the arctic drillship Stena DrillMAX ICE. This high-profile newbuild combines the successful DrillMAX concept with demanding ice-class requirements.
An economical initiative
As the world’s first dynamically positioned, dual-mast drillship with ice-class certification, the Stena DrillMAX ICE represents a large and important investment for Stena Drilling Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Stena. This is a key reason why the purchase of a PureBallast system makes economic sense today, even if ballast water treatment requirements have not yet entered into force.
The Stena DrillMAX ICE is an extremely specialized and expensive vessel, which makes every hour of operation crucial. Stena decided not to wait to install a ballast water treatment system until regulations are in place, as this would mean taking the drillship out of service and placing it back in the dry dock. In such an event, the cost of the retrofit would be not only the cost of the equipment, but also the cost of the downtime.
With a PureBallast treatment system installed from the beginning, the company can plan the operations of the Stena DrillMAX ICE well into the future, regardless when IMO’s ballast water treatment regulations become law.
Trust in a marine supplier
“For Alfa Laval, the order of a PureBallast 2500 for the Stena DrillMAX ICE represents a combination of firsts,†says Peter Carlberg, General Manager of Alfa Laval Marine & Diesel. “As well as being the first order for our largest PureBallast system, it represents our first PureBallast delivery to the Stena fleet. This makes it yet another positive step in Alfa Laval’s long-term cooperation with Stena.â€
For Stena Drilling Ltd., working with an experienced marine supplier was important when choosing a solution for ballast water treatment. The Stena DrillMAX ICE will handle sensitive applications in sensitive waters, and this means that nothing can be left to chance.
Also convinced of Alfa Laval’s abilities is Samsung Heavy Industries, who will be installing PureBallast for the first time aboard the Stena DrillMAX ICE. “While we’ve supplied Samsung Heavy Industries extensively in the past, there was naturally a period of careful evaluation before PureBallast was selected,†says Carlberg. “Today we can say with pride that PureBallast lives up to their high expectations.â€
