KBAL and Høglund join forces to offer shipowners ground-breaking ballast water technology
With Høglund Marine Solutions onboard as automation and control specialist, KBAL is now offering their ballast water technology - developed by shipowners- to quality conscious shipowners outside the Knutsen Group, according to the company's release. With 4 completed installations and several ongoing projects on vessels owned by external shipowners KBAL has already started building experience outside of the Knutsen Group. Four successful retrofits, and two new builds to be completed in Q3/Q4 2022. In addition there are 11 ongoing projects for 2023-24.
The partnership started in the spring of 2020. KBALs innovative ballast water treatment technology had been in the game for 11 years by then, installed on vessels in the mother company Knutsen OAS Shipping. However, the company was searching for the right automation partner who could serve the vessels anywhere in the world with its worldwide presence and perform remote troubleshooting of the automation system.
It is the first technology of its type, using neither filter nor chemicals. The technology consists of two treatment units; the patented Pressure Vacuum (PV) reactor and the Ultraviolet (UV) chamber. Untreated ballast water enters the PV reactor, where the organisms experience immediate pressure transition from 2barG to vacuum, which destroys all large organisms. The remaining smaller organisms such as algae and bacteria are eliminated in the UV chamber. Due to the compact nature of the treatment units, KBAL can treat 3000m3/h with a footprint of only 9 m2.
To support this technology, Høglund has developed software for control of pumps and valves, delivered on a dedicated, marine type-approved control cabinet. The whole ballast water operation is easily controlled from a single operator station and can be fully integrated into the vessel’s automation system.
Per default each delivered system also includes Høglund PLAYBACK, a must- have functionality for any operator, enabling them to go back in time and see all alarms and events as if it were live data.
KBAL is wholly owned by TS Shipping Invest AS and is part of the leading shipping conglomerate Knutsen Group. The KBAL system has already been installed on 25 Knutsen vessels in addition to 4 vessels owned by external shipowners. The system is USCG/IMO type approved and compliant in all waters (marine, brackish and freshwater). 2 newbuild and 8 retrofit projects are on order for 2022.
