Global ballast water equipment manufacturer ERMA FIRST is bringing the world’s smallest and easiest to install ballast water treatment system to the international market through its acquisition of US firm oneTANK LLC.
oneTANK, a subsidiary of naval architecture and marine engineering firm Glosten, has developed a small scale innovative, low-cost, IMO Revised G8 Code and United States Coast Guard compliant system.
Based on a patented mixing technology developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the system can be installed in larger vessels’ aftpeak tanks. It is also suitable for use aboard workboats, tugboats, semi-submersibles, fishing vessels and superyachts. The technology is already being adopted on ships in aftpeak tanks within Overseas Shipholding Group’s tanker fleet and on the dredger MV Charlock in the Netherlands.
ERMA FIRST has seen significant success with its electro-chlorination systems for larger vessels and is now expanding its portfolio to provide a wider variety of onboard solutions to a larger market than ever before. The move follows its recent acquisition of German water treatment specialist RWO GmbH in May 2021, METIS Cyberspace Technology in 2019 and positions ERMA FIRST as a top tier, global provider of environmental protection systems.
oneTANK treats ballast water within the vessel’s ballast tank and has no filters, ultra-violet lamps or electrolytic chlorine generators. Its footprint is only 600mm x 600mm, half the size of its nearest competitor. Its power consumption is similar to that of a household washing machine. With low-running costs and fully regulatory compliance, oneTANK provides a ballast water management solution which works in all water qualities and salinities.
The system uses an 8.25% or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite(bleach) and 30% sodium thiosulfate solution – readily available chemicals that can be purchased from suppliers worldwide. Application is practical for smaller vessels as a 20-litre container of 12.5% bleach will treat approximately 288 cubic meters of ballast water.  For larger vessels, oneTANK can treat tanks as large as 4,000 cubic meters.
Seawater is automatically treated by applying and mixing the bulk chemicals in-tank, allowing users to treat on their own schedules, avoiding busy in-port times.