Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Europa to Get New BWTS in Hamburg

Europa, a cruise ship owned by Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, will be retrofitted with a new ballast water treatment system (BWTS) in Hamburg, French UV-based treatment specialist BIO-UV Group said.

BIO-UV has secured a contract with Columbia Cruise Services to equip the 1999-built cruise vessel with BWTS.

Installation and commissioning will take place during the vessel’s scheduled drydocking at the Blohm+Voss yard this September.

With the 198.6-meter-long Europa set to call at San Francisco next year, the existing system needs to be replaced with a system compliant with US Coast Guard requirements.

“We are delighted that Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, through Columbia, has opted to retrofit BIO-SEA to this vessel, our first reference with this cruise line,” Ludovic Rouzel, BWT Contracts Manager, BIO-UV Group, said.

Specifically, a modular BIO-SEA B01-0085 system with an 85m3/h flow rate will replace a first-generation UV-type ballast water system currently installed on the 28,890 GT vessel.

“Operators of cruiseships fitted with first-generation BWTS technology and which are revising their cruise itineraries to include US ports of call will need to upgrade (when possible) or replace these systems with USCG-approved units before they can enter US waters. We are discussing similar retrofit projects with a number of cruise lines.”

In March, BIO-UV Group successfully completed the retrofitting of a modular 450m3/h capacity BIO-SEA unit aboard the CMI-operated 22,400 GT cruise ship Deutschland, which sails as World Odyssey from September until April each year.

“According to analysts, the number of cruiseships is set to increase from the 314 vessels currently in service to more than 550 vessels by 2027,” Xavier Deval, BIO-SEA Business Director, explained.

“We also anticipate strong growth in the retrofit market as operators begin to replace non-compliant first-generation systems with those that are approved to meet USCG and IMO D8 standards.”

Earlier this year, the French water treatment specialist inked contracts for skid-mounted BIO-SEA 300 m3/h capacity units for installation to four Meraviglia-class and four World-class vessels building for MSC Cruises.

BIO-UV Group will also supply BIO-SEA 300 m3/h capacity units for installation to Celebrity Cruises’ four Edge-class cruiseships, the first of which, Celebrity Edge, is now in service.

Chantiers de l’Atlantique takes delivery of the BIO-SEA unit for the fourth vessel in the series early next year.