Bio-UV Group of France says that a Bio-Sea Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) designed for the Unites States Navy (USN) has completed Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) at the production facility in France, meaning that Bio-UV Group now has approval to ship the system to a USN facility for operational testing.
Bio-UV Group is working with The Columbia Group, (TCG), a US-based engineering partner, and prime contractor in the development project. Teaming up with Bio-UV Group design engineers, TCG was awarded a contract in 2021 to develop a military version of Bio-Sea’s United State Coast Guard (USCG)-approved ultraviolet light (UV) ballast water disinfection system to equip future USN ships. Contract awards were open to international vendors based on a competitive proposal process.
Completion of FAT is a critical step in the multi-year design and development project. The overall programme has been developed to meet the US Government objective to provide Naval vessels with a treatment option to manage ballast water, pending successful completion of the contract in 2026. Bio-UV Group works as part of a team with USN scientists and engineers, and TCG engineers in support of this objective.
Bio-UV Group CEO Laurent-Emmanuel Migeon said: “We thank the TCG team and USN representatives for visiting our production plant and overseeing the successful completion of FATs of the first Bio-Sea unit under the initial development contract. This is a major milestone and not only represents the quality and efficiency of Bio-Sea engineering and technology, but it is also indicative of the success of the partnership we have with the USN and TCG in designing a custom-made BWTS capable of meeting the most stringent requirements of the US military.”
The tailor-made system developed for the USN is a robust, filtration and UV-based BWTS capable of dealing with flow rates up to 300m3/h and plans include the manufacture of a system capable of up to 1,000m3/h.
