Wärtsilä and COSCO sign manufacturing license agreement for Ballast Water Management Systems
Wärtsilä has signed a manufacturing license agreement with COSCO (Weihai) Shipbuilding Marine Technology Company Limited (WECOSCO) based in Weihai, China, the company said in its press release. The two-way agreement provides COSCO with access to technology and the rights to manufacture the Wärtsilä Aquarius Electro Chlorination (EC) Ballast Water Management System (BWMS) under license for application in their global marine market. In return, Wärtsilä gains access to an additional manufacturing facility able to assist with supply and demand of the Wärtsilä BWMS direct to Wärtsilä customers. The agreement was signed in Weihai on 28th May 2015 and takes effect from 1st June 2015.
Wärtsilä retains ownership of the Aquarius EC technology and all associated Intellectual Property Rights, and will provide technical support to WECOSCO who will manufacture the system under license for applications on ships across the global marine market including COSCO. COSCO operates a number of shipyards in China and has one of the largest shipping fleets in the world. The Aquarius EC BWMS will be supplied with Type Approvals obtained by Wärtsilä and according to both IMO and USCG legislation will be installed not only new ships but also for the significant retrofit market.
The agreement has a 5 year initial term. The two companies will support each other in delivering the BWMS technology to a broader customer base.
The Wärtsilä Aquarius EC BWMS provides robust technology for the treatment of ballast water using a simple two stage process involving filtration and electro-chlorination (EC). It is effective in all operating and environmental conditions. The system is easy to integrate and maintain, and is type approved according to the IMO Convention and has an Alternative Management System (AMS) acceptance certificate from the United States Coastguard (USCG). The Aquarius EC BWMS has also successfully completed landed based testing in accordance with the USCG environmental technology verification (ETV) protocols and USCG Type Approval is anticipated early in 2016.
