A very interesting interview was given to nafsgreen.gr by Tom Perlich, Founder and Managing Director, Ecochlor Cyprus, regarding the implementation of BWM Convention.
The interview of Mr. Perlich has as follows:
Ecochlor announced the opening of a new factory in North Haven, Connecticut, USA. What is the reason for the opening of this additional factory space?
The new factory was opened by our manufacturing partner, ProFlow, who have been building systems for Ecochlor since 2001. As of April 2019, Ecochlor has more than 250 ships in its order book. Our customers include some of largest and most respected shipowners in the world ─ Alaska Tankers, Anglo Eastern Ship Management, Bahri Ship Management, Capital Ship Management, Liberty Marine, Angelicoussis Group, Minerva Marine, SCF Group, Seacor, and Scorpio Tankers. When our order book tripled last year, ProFlow was able to quickly increase production capacity and with this additional factory space ProFlow has moved from one-off customized deliveries to volume production. Additional production efficiencies allowed them to decrease their manufacturing time by more than 25%.
Ballast water system suppliers believe that shipowners are seeking to postpone installation decisions. Is that the case, and if so, why is it happening?
Unfortunately, installing a BWMS doesn’t offer an immediate commercial value to a shipowner in the same way that a scrubber does. Many shipowners believed that there wasn’t any economic advantage to installing a BWMS early and so put their efforts into postponing the inevitable for as long as possible. For the shipowners that were early-adopters, they saw clear benefits that included premium scheduling with manufacturers as well as better pricing and contract add-ons that lead to a better and less costly retrofit experience. Today, it would be rare to see these options available to the shipowner unless they are negotiating for their entire fleet of vessels. Additionally, some shipowners are finding that their preferred BWMS manufacturer is not able to deliver a system in time for their drydock and that qualified engineering firms aren’t available to start retrofit projects on demand. I recommend that shipowners start to manage the BWMS retrofit process at least 18 months before their drydock dates by reaching out to the marine engineering firms for feasibility studies or to schedule 3D scans or survey on their vessels. Delays are expected, with Class, engineering firms and some of the more reliable, most requested BWMS manufacturers when demands are at the highest in the very near future.
What is your advice to shipowners to proceed with the correct choice of BWMS?
The shipowner really needs to practice due diligence when choosing a BWMS for their fleet. There are a lot of important factors that should be considered before deciding on a system, for example the ship’s trade route, crew involvement, the vessel’s operational requirements and I believe, most importantly, the reliability of the BWMS. If the BWMS is systematically unreliable, or if the crew really doesn’t understand how to run the system, then when the ship reaches port, it will be open to doubt whether or not they will be able to discharge the ballast water. With port state detentions or barred entry, potential financial penalties, shipowner’s reputation, or the potential for charter losses as consequences of BWM non-compliance, I would suggest that having a reliable system on board the vessel should be one of the most important considerations when choosing a BWMS.
How does Ecochlor know the BWMS is operational?
We go above and beyond our competition in offering oversite of every Ecochlor system on board a vessel. This is in part because we are on the vessel handling the chemical resupply process roughly twice a year. During this ship visit, we can do a check on the equipment to ensure that it is running efficiently and if the new crew has any questions on the operation of the BWMS we can offer them training. Additionally, we use real-time data analysis to make sure the system uptimes are maintained at the highest possible levels. The ongoing monitoring of every Ecochlor system that is installed on a vessel is important in helping us keep their system fully operational. The crew sends us data after every ballast operation and that information is incorporated into a weekly internal fleet update that charts the vessel position, next port of call, last ballast operation, chemical tank levels, operational concerns, requested parts, and a preventative maintenance schedule. We don’t wait for a next service call; we plan our way to being there in support of the ship’s crew, wherever they are in the world, on a regular basis.
In what ways does Ecochlor set the standard in the ballast water management industry for operational performance and reliability?
To minimize equipment failure and maximizing long-life it means using high-quality components in the build, as well as simplifying the system operation so that there are fewer moving parts. Reliability comes down to the choices that our engineers made when designing and specifying the Ecochlor BWMS. We make sure that our suppliers understand the ship operators’ requirements and the nature of the environment that the equipment will be operating in. This way we can guarantee that our systems are ‘fit for purpose’ all the way down to the component level. That said, creating a BWMS that will operate trouble-free can mean additional production costs – costs that we must justify so that shipowners understand the value of this reliability against the very real risks and costs associated with breakdowns and non-compliance. When BWMS are built with low cost as their entry into market, shipowners need to understand that they are not being built with quality and longevity in mind. This has been a costly lesson for shipowners that have had to replace these systems with more dependable options when their BWMS didn’t work.
Ecochlor has been selected by ATC, a vessel owner with high safety and environmental standards. Looking forward to your ongoing relationship, in what ways has Ecochlor implemented the requirements that have been agreed upon and ensured meeting of these high standards?
Ecochlor will be retrofitting three VLCC crude oil tankers for Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) with an option for one more. Each of these vessels are U.S. flag tankers with Zone 1 and Zone 0 hazardous areas. ATC has a strong reputation in the shipping industry for having a culture of environmental responsibility, their ships must not only meet and exceed environmental standards, they have to do it reliably so that there is no interruption of critical oil supplies. Ecochlor understands these high requirements and has the same expectations in our equipment reliability and our efficiency in treating ballast water. Additionally, having a system that was simple and easy to operate as well as the ensuring the safety of the crew was a high priority for ATC when they were considering different BWMSs. Ecochlor has a very strong support system in place with ATC that includes excellent and responsive service capabilities as well as training programs and continuous communication with the crew for the life of the vessel.
Ecochlor is dedicated to serving its clients well-beyond the usual ballast water treatment industry expectations. In that context, could you pls tell us few words about EcoCare Compliance Guarantee. Is that a strong competitive advantage of Ecochlor?
Ecochlor has the only BWMS compliance guarantee in the industry. The EcoCare Compliance Guarantee ensures Ecochlor’s system performance in the treatment of ballast water for invasive species. It is free to any shipowner that installs an Ecochlor system on their vessel. We felt that it was important, as a company, to stand behind our product with a pledge that our system will always perform to the standards established by the IMO, USCG and individual U.S. states, especially in light of so many other ships with inoperability issues. We hope that this guarantee offers shipowners the assurance they are investing in the best system available today and into the future.
Ecochlor recently hosted a BEMA’s Workshop. What is the Ballastwater Equipment Manufacturers Association (BEMA)?
The purpose of BEMA is of provide BWMS manufacturers and other interested companies a unified voice for BWMS to regulatory agencies and the general public. The Association also acts as non-commercial guidance to ship owners, associations and regulators as well as the environmental protection communities. Ecochlor’s CEO, Steve Candito was one of the founders of BEMA and currently sits on the Board of Directors. To date, BEMA has 43 members and the Association is planning to apply for IMO NGO status prior to the next deadline in 2020.
Euploia Dry Docks and Services, Ltd. is the Exclusive Agent in Greece. Contact: Charis Valentakis, +30 210 9400660, info@ euploia.eu
* Founder and Managing Director, Ecochlor Cyprus