Damen signs up Erma First

Damen signs up Erma First to supply world’s smallest ballast water treatment system

Damen has signed its first contact with ballast water treatment systems producer Erma First. Greek company Erma First will be supplying its oneTANK, which is the world’s smallest ballast water treatment system. oneTANK uses chemical injection methods to clean ships’ ballast water and therefore represents an important expansion of Damen’s ballast water treatment system portfolio. The contract also marks a key milestone in the cooperation between Damen and the Greek maritime supply sector.

Damen Green Solutions has a broad selection of ballast water treatment systems in its range. These offer ship-owners various capacities and techniques in treating their ballast water. With the addition of the Erma First oneTANK, Damen can provide clients with a solution that is not only small, but also modular.

This modularity will be particularly important in Damen’s first project with Erma First, where the client was looking for a plug-and-play ballast water treatment product that could be placed on the deck of its vessel.

Small but effective

“Our client needed a temporary ballast water treatment solution for quite an old vessel,” explains Damen sales manager Rutger van Dam. “Erma First’s oneTANK is small enough to be housed in a twenty-foot container. This means that installation will be quite straightforward and, more importantly, at the end of the vessel’s operational life, the whole system can be removed and installed on another vessel.”

The contract is important to Damen because it broadens the scope of ballast water treatment products that it can offer its clients. “We have different systems available from various manufacturers. We know the pros and cons of all these systems; they have varying capacities and use different techniques: UV, filtration, electrolysis, and now chemical injection. Whatever the client requires, we have the knowledge and experience in house to offer exactly what our they are looking for.”

To treat a vessel’s ballast water, the fully-certified Erma First oneTANK uses an 8.25% or 12.5% sodium hypochlorite and 30% sodium thiosulfate solution, with both chemicals being neutralised after use. “For owners working with workboats, superyachts and pontoons (smaller vessels) that are not dependent on frequent ballast operations, oneTANK is a great solution,” continues Van Dam.

Cooperation with the Greek maritime industry

“We are very happy to be working with Damen on this project. We will support their client with our extensive knowledge of ballast water treatment systems wherever we can,” says Erma First Business Development Manager and president of HEMEXPO Eleni Polychronopoulou. “Furthermore, I applaud Damen on their enthusiasm in building relationships with the Greek maritime industry. Such industrial participation is a key part of the modern shipbuilding industry. May this cooperation be a sign of things to come.”

The fact that Erma First is a Greek company is another significant aspect about the contract. Throughout the world, Damen has been involved ‘national ship building’ projects that have combined Damen’s own shipbuilding expertise with the capabilities of local industries and workforce.

“We don’t just build ships in our own yards – we can also help our clients build their vessels in the yard of their choice in collaboration with its local industry,” says Damen’s Industrial Participation Manager, Marijke Winiarski. “Contracts like this with Erma First are exemplary of Damen’s approach towards the involvement of local industries in our projects, paving the way for local companies to benefit from Damen’s international opportunities, whilst simultaneously helping Damen to develop new partnerships, such as this one with Erma First.”