Aquarius UV ballast water system.
Proven UV ballast water treatment, built for real-world operation.
Aquarius UV Ballast Water Management System is one of the most robust solutions for ballast water treatment. It uses a 2-stage process involving filtration and ultra-violet (UV) irradiation. It can be used across the full range of ship operating and environmental conditions.
The system uses no active substances or chemicals, is easy to integrate, operate and maintain. The Aquarius UV is type approved to the latest IMO and USCG regulations. It is available in for installation in both engine room and hazardous areas on tankers as an EX version.
Wärtsilä Water & Waste works in close cooperation with its customers. Our BWMS partnership program covers all stages, from fleet evaluation to lifecycle support. Wärtsilä’s tailored turnkey solutions help minimize your environmental footprint, improve operational efficiency and comply to IMO and USCG standards.
Why operators choose Aquarius UV:
Aquarius UV system range:
Approved where it matters:
What’s included as standard:
Simple to run. Built to stay running.
System operation is incredibly straight forward. Simply select an operation mode and start the ballast pump when requested. The warm-up of the Aquarius UV is fully automatic. No sea-to-sea operation is required during this phase. From this point the system will look after itself until shutdown. Crew interaction is limited to annual maintenance needs and occasional watchkeeping of the unit.
UV treatment that adapts to conditions.
The Aquarius UV BWMS uses a medium pressure UV reactor to provide the second stage of treatment during ballast uptake. It also treats the ballast water on discharge, prior to overboard discharge. This reactor works intelligently to always provide the dose needed to meet the type approved parameters for treatment of the ballast water. This dose control is a critical part of the treatment process and critical to treatment success.
Filtration that makes UV treatment work.
A crucial first step in UV ballast water treatment is the filtration of all incoming seawater during uptake. We use high quality 40 micron back-flushing filter systems that offer an exceptional high and reliable performance. They allow for a very consistent second stage treatment of the ballast water to IMO and USCG standards. Our filter systems are designed by our trusted partner Filtersafe®.
How the filtration system works.
Water enters the vessel through the seachest and is pumped by the ballast pump to the first stage of the treatment system, the filter. At the filter, the water is first prefiltered to remove large particles and debris. The particles less than 1mm then enter the filtration chamber where they pass from the inside of the screen out to the filter body.
After filtration, the seawater is ready to go to the secondary stage to be treated before filling the ballast tanks.
As the water passes through the filter, organisms and dirt are trapped on the inside of the screen. A differential pressure sensor measures the amount of debris trapped on the screen and triggers the automatic self-cleaning cycle when the screen needs cleaning. During the self-cleaning cycle, the organisms and dirt on the screen are suctioned by the nozzles back through the scanner arm and deposited by the flushing system overboard.
After cleaning, the differential pressure returns to normal and the automatic cleaning cycle resets until the next time the screen needs to be cleaned.
Explore other ballast water systems.
Aquarius UV is part of a wider ballast water management range designed to support different vessel requirements, installation constraints, and operational profiles.
Explore alternative systems to find the right fit for your vessel.
Aquarius UVX
A compact UV ballast water management system designed for enhanced efficiency, installation flexibility, and performance across demanding vessel profiles.
Aquarius UV with Manta
A next-generation UV solution designed to streamline installation and improve efficiency for both newbuild and retrofit projects.
40 Micron Backflushing Filter System
High-performance ballast water filtration designed to support reliable treatment performance and consistent compliance in demanding operating conditions.
