News Review: Alfa Laval's PureBallast selected for RAN | ADM May 2010

1 May 2010

PureBallast, Alfa Laval's unique and chemical-free system for ballast water treatment, has been selected by the DMO to equip the Navy's two Canberra-class amphibious landing ships (LHD).

These will be the first PureBallast installations for naval use; the first PureBallast system for the Royal Australian Navy was delivered in mid-December last year, with the second system scheduled to follow in April 2010.

Each PureBallast system will have a treatment system flow of 250 m3/h.

Since naval vessels are exempted from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) pending ballast water treatment requirements, the RAN's decision to install ballast water treatment systems is a voluntary one.

It was made in part to protect Australia's sensitive coastal environment, which has already been threatened by the invasion of non-native organisms transported via ballast water.

Darwin Harbour, for example, was invaded by the South American black-striped mussel in 1999, which necessitated a quarantine and cleanup effort costing over US$2 million.