ACO Marine has successfully completed the commissioning of wastewater treatment units aboard the ropax sisters Sveti Krševan, Supertar and Cres operated by Croatian owner Jadrolinija.
The three 87.6m vessels were each retrofitted with a Clarimar MF-2 biological-type sewage treatment plant at the Dalmont shipyard in Kraljevica, Croatia, the oldest continuously operating shipyard in the world, with a history dating back to 1729.
Italy’s La Fornitrice, ACO Marine’s engineering partner in the region, completed the commissioning of the system aboard Cres, the final ship in the series, in May. Equipment for all three retrofits was delivered to the yard between December 2018 and January 2019.
Robert Devetak, Managing Director, La Fornitrice, said: “Jadrolinija is a long-standing customer of La Fornitrice so we were delighted to have won the national tender for supplying the ACO Marine system to these vessels. The project is a good reference for La Fornitrice in that the contract includes after sales servicing of the Clarimar units.”
The contract also included the supply of detailed installation drawings to the shipyard and the issuance of the requisite approval certificates from the Croatian Ship Register (HRB).
Prior to the installation and commissioning of the Clarimar units, the 600-passenger capacity ferries did not treat wastewater streams but instead collected the effluent in holding tanks. In the busy summer months, this meant that the tanks needed emptying on a daily basis.
Mark Beavis, Managing Director, ACO Marine, added: “The storage of a vessel’s wastewater streams in onboard holding tanks is not the most operationally-efficient solution. The use of port reception facilities can be costly and also delay ship turn-around-times.”
While performance and cost-efficiencies were key factors in the owner opting for the ACO Marine solution, the decision to retrofit a wastewater treatment unit, however, was a decision led by regulatory necessity.
Until recently, Croatia did not have strict or detailed regulations governing the discharge of wastewater into its coastal waters. However, in 2015 Croatian authorities completed the Coastal City Pollution Control Project, putting an end to indiscriminate discharging practices, and mandating solutions for treating and monitoring wastewater discharges.
“We anticipate a run of orders from Croatia-based ship operators as they look to retrofit wastewater treatment systems to meet the new requirements,” said Beavis.
He added: “ACO technology was accepted by the owner as suitable to upgrade their wastewater handling arrangements. Purchase was made through public tender, choosing the Clarimar MF-2 system through La Fornitrice as best bid price.
“The successful installation and performance of these units resulted in July in La Fornitrice winning another national tender for the retrofitting of the Clarimar system to an additional five ferries in the Jadrolinija fleet.”
These additional five vessels of the same class – Hrvat, Juraj Dalmatinac, Marjan, Jadran, and Biokovo – will each be fitted out with larger Clarimar MF-3 units, which La Fornitrice will supply from mid-October 2019.
Jadrolinija manages a fleet of more than 50 passenger ferries operating between the mainland and the Croatian islands of the Adriatic.
ACO Marine’s biological-type Clarimar MF system, introduced to the market in 2014, was developed to provide ship operators with a smaller, safer and more cost-effective wastewater management solution.
“Balancing foot-print, corrosion-resistance and safety with reliability and price is what sets the MF apart from other systems in the market. All our Clarimar units are supplied with a life-time guarantee against corrosion of the tank,” Beavis said.