KBAL: Differentiated Technology from Shipowner for Shipowners
By using no chemical, no filter, and no overly complicated engineering for crew, the Knutsen Ballast Water Treatment is emerging as an industry leader for LNG carriers and shuttle tankers across the global fleet. MD Jorunn Seglem tells Energy Focus more about the growth of the company that allows shipowners to adhere to stringent international maritime regulations.
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Fresh from Marinetec China in Shanghai, Jorunn Seglem, MD at Knutsen Ballast Water Treatment (KBAL), is back at HQ in Haugesund, Norway. She is excited about a busy 2024 as the company’s innovation is quickly recognised as industry leading.
In China, where shipyards are stacked with orders for new vessels, Seglem met with peers to promote KBAL and the unique ballast water treatment that has been developed and refined over the past two decades. She was keen on meeting – with the help of Innovation Norway – those active in LNG transportation and owners of tanker vessels that move liquid fuels around the world. In this highly regulated industry, shipowners must comply with certain international rules in order to dock at certain ports and KBAL has a certified solution that makes life easier for all involved.
Almost all of the world’s LNG carrying fleet is secured on long-term charters, and a large vessel can carry enough fuel to warm more than 17 million UK homes on a cold winter day. But to deliver to the world’s preeminent port locations safely, onboard ballast water treatment is a must. Since the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) introduced the idea for approvals in 2000, various innovations have come to the fore. Treating water is vital to ensure the spread of invasive marine species is eliminated or minimised. As ships sit in ports and traverse the seas, they take on vast volumes of ballast water to balance, stabilise, improve manoeuvrability, and reduce stresses on the hull. In this water, microorganisms can live and thrive, and if they are released into new territories they can be damaging to the regional marine environment. An effective, reliable, stress-free treatment system is critical.
Jorunn Seglem, Managing Director
At Marinetec China, Seglem promoted the KBAL offering and made it clear that this is the only system that is designed and made by shipowners, for shipowners. Using no chemicals or filters, water is passed through a unique two-tier structure to remove bacteria, algae, and other large and small organisms.
“It was hectic but I feel energised from it,” she tells Energy Focus.
“We are very ambitious. We have a very good product, and we have the strength of the Knutsen Group behind us. We have the marine environment in mind, always. We will be a very good product for many shipowners and I truly believe, based on the feedback we are receiving, that we have a strong future in the mix of ballast water systems across the world fleet.”
NO FILTER, NO CHEMICALS
The Knutsen Group has a long history on the sea. Founded in 1896 as a shipping business in the west of Norway, it grew to become a major ship owner before venturing into various related markets. The expertise developed over many years, working alongside major international energy companies, has helped KBAL to grow from deep learnings that other players cannot match.
The KBAL system takes untreated water through a ballast pump to the inlet of a pressure vacuum (PV) reactor at 2 barG. The water moves through the PV reactor where the pressure changes instantly and the strong force removes larger organisms. Then, the water passes through a UV chamber to eliminate any smaller organisms that remain before being distributed to the ballast tanks. It is a simple solution to a complex problem, tried and tested, and now approved by several important international bodies.
“We saw that initial ideas in the industry tended to use well-known land-based technologies like filter, UV, and chemical, and putting these systems onboard vessels. Our experience as a shipowner, where we have used some of these technologies in marine operations in the North Sea where the water is fairly clear, was that land-based technologies do not always suit the environment onboard a vessel – especially filters where we experienced clogging, with hassle for our crews cleaning them. It was disrupting the capacity of the flow. We didn’t see these options as the best solution onboard our vessels,” says Seglem.
As a shipowner, the Knutsen Group knew it needed a reliable system to comply with IMO regulations which were initially discussed in 2000. The Ballast Water Management Convention is a treaty adopted by the IMO in 2004. Developed to remain relevant, from 8 September 2017, the treaty dictates that ships must manage their ballast water so that aquatic organisms and pathogens are removed or rendered harmless before the ballast water is released into a new location.
“We had already been experimenting with KVOC, another technology that we have patented in our group to reduce volatile organic compounds when loading tankers. We wanted to see if our experience operating advanced vessels in the North Sea could somehow adapt this technology to treat water and to remove organisms, which was the requirement at the time,” explains Seglem.
From Haugesund, the group began testing and partnered with biologists and the local university. The technology was recognised as very efficient when treating seawater and so the group scaled research and spent nine years testing and refining before launching KBAL as a standalone company.
“In 2012, we received the first IMO approval and we were very happy. We started installing our system onboard Knutsen Group vessels in different ranges. Our group mainly consists of LNG carriers, oil shuttle tankers and, product and chemical tankers. The idea was always to have a robust system that is easy to operate for the crew, with no hazards from using chemicals (for which you need qualified personnel onboard), and with less maintenance required. There are no rotating parts in fact nearly no movable parts – that remains key,” Seglem details.
But, living by one of the Knutsen Group’s key values of innovation, the KBAL approvals from the IMO were not enough for the ambitious leadership. The company was keen to improve and take the system further. When the US Coast Guard (USCG) opened discussions in 2013, further enhancements would be required to meet stringent requirements. Vessels with USCG type approval ambition, including retrofit and newbuild, stands at around 60,000 over the next six to seven years.
NEW APPROVALS
“USCG approval was not fully aligned with the IMO. This new approval meant that we must do additional testing, with more investment in time, resources and money,” says Seglem. “We wanted to learn from the fleet that we had already installed KBAL on and improve further for the crew and for assurance of our component delivery. We decided to develop our own UV system and we developed that while we were testing with the USCG. We were in a race as we had already sold the idea of being USCG approved to our group. It was a hectic period. We had to deliver as we had a date at the shipyard in Korea so failure was not an option. We managed through collaboration with the classification society, Lloyd’s Register.”
In 2020, KBAL received its revised type approval from IMO and the USCG type approval.
“It has been a great journey,” smiles Seglem. In 2020, the company had 20 vessels sailing with the KBAL system. But all were from the Knutsen Group fleet. Seglem knew other shipowners wanted to use the system and so the business prepared for external markets where competition was strong.
“We were successful and we had some external shipowners take our product,” she adds. “Chinese shipyards have large orderbooks and they are key players for us to be in dialogue with. We have to educate them on our system as we are moving from retrofit to more newbuild markets, and shipyards are key players in that mix.
“It is a very fragmented market with a lot of suppliers. You either supply using filter and chemical, or filter and UV. Our system is different as we don’t use a filter at all. Our patented system uses pressure and vacuum. We don’t need backflushing and therefore we have no clogging. The pressure vacuum reactor in combination with a UV chamber makes us a UV supplier, and there are a lot of players in this market.”
But she remains confident that the efficiency of the KBAL offering is industry leading, and the nature of the system makes it easier to maintain onboard a vessel. As regulations become more prominent and more demanding, most ships of 400 gt and above will require an International Ballast Water Management Certificate, specifically a D-2 standard certification that recognises discharge of ballast water under certain conditions while meeting strict criteria.
“We have a comprehensive installation manual and we ship the technology to the shipyard. We have good communication with shipyards directly, and we are happy to work with third party engineering companies that integrate our systems. Our dedicated project engineers follow up diligently to ensure that everything is installed exactly as it should be. We also have a commissioning engineer that is sent to test everything and ensure the vessel receives the D-2 certificate – essential in order to sail.”
With global rates for shipping LNG falling in recent months, shipowners are still working closely across the industry to understand future pricing as more vessels are redirected around the southern tip of Africa, avoiding the Red Sea, as they transport this vital cargo that energises life. With the cost and timing to move LNG seemingly unpredictable, shipowners are searching for consistent, sustainable costing in every other area that they can control. Small, maintenance-light, chemical and filter free, and supported by a global network of partners, KBAL is able to offer predictable pricing for the long-term.
“Ballast water systems are not often at the top of a ship owners’ agenda. LNG carriers and other tankers are always looking at technologies, but usually related to cargo handling or propulsion. We do see more shipowners are interested in having a system that is reliable, with no hazard to the crew. There will be ports that will give penalties for improper use of ballast water systems and so ballast systems will move up the list of importance,” furthers Seglem.
As more partners learn about the KBAL system, experiencing it first-hand, the team will continue to push development to make it stronger, more efficient, and easier to use – a simple solution to a complex challenge.
“Last year we further enhanced our certificate by limiting the need for operating KBAL to only uptake. Hence the crew can bypass KBAL during discharge, making it more efficient and less prone for wear and tear,” reveals Seglem. “We are also looking at locations of production considering that the retrofit activity was mostly in Europe and the newbuild market is moving more and more to Asia. We are considering setting up there with at least a logistics base.
“We have done a great job with development,” she adds, paying tribute to the team who has developed the product over the years, and to those who have helped to get KBAL into external fleets. “There are always things we would like to improve and develop further while we focus on expanding our product to external customers.”
BUOYANT INDUSTRY
Hundreds of new LNG vessels have been ordered with delivery expected over the next two years. There is no doubt that the industry has the capacity for KBAL to grow strongly. The Knutsen Group took delivery of its latest LNG carrier in Dec 2023, and there are 20 more newbuilds expected by the end of 2026. This, says Seglem, is encouraging.
“Our customers are very aggressive with their growth strategies. They are willing to look at new technologies That is great for the industry and great for the supply chain, ensuring vessels have the best and most relevant tech. There is a big building programme and our customers are keen on having the most efficient and robust technology onboard. That is positive for us and inline with our long-term vision.”
Of course, like any industry, there are challenges. Slowdowns in deliveries of electrical components, logistics delays, general uncertainty combined with rising interstate rates have made for a space that is more difficult to navigate than pre-2020.
“But there is so much pressure for the industry to explore all possible ways of reaching decarbonization goals and therefore be open for new technology,” Seglem sums up. “The shipping industry is more open to and curious about how new technology can help contribute to less fuel consumption and greener sailing profile. This is positive for us as well..”
KBAL is today fully compliant in all waters and is capable of treating ballast water with a UV transmittance (UVT) as low as 26%, best in class among UV ballast water treatment systems, which allows KBAL to operate in challenging harbours where other systems cannot. Now is the time to go filter and chemical free, and treat water in just one pass.