The Queen Mary 2, one of the major cruise vessels in the world, is currently being equipped with a Wärtsilä advanced wastewater treatment system. Thus the cruiser will be fully able to comply with the IMO’s requirements relating to the prevention of pollution from ships. The Wärtsilä Hamworthy Membrane BioReactor (MBR) solutions are designed to help facilitate both the management as well as treatment of ‘grey’ and ‘black’ wastewater, and to monitor discharges to the sea waters. The contract regarding the installation was awarded by Cunard Line during the third quarter of last year.
The Queen Mary 2 went operational back in 2004, it has a capacity of 2620 passengers and was specially designed with the intention of reducing the cruiser’s impact on the environment via more efficient systems for waste management. The current on-board system now needs replacing and the company managing the ship has selected two Wärtsilä Hamworthy MBR 16 systems to serve the purpose in order maintain the high environmental standards of the vessel.
“Environmental performance has as great of an importance as it’s ever had throughout the marine industry, but specifically so when it comes to cruise ships along with ferries. Wärtsilä’s in-house know-how and broad experience, regarding treatment of wastewater and management systems for vessels, were major factors in the award of this very important contract,” commented Juha Kytölä, Vice President, Environmental Solutions, Wärtsilä Ship Power.
Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 is powered via the use of four Wärtsilä main engines.
Wärtsilä Hamworthy Membrane BioReactor Systems
Wärtsilä’s innovative MBR system serves as an evolutionary step of the company’s already proven sewage treatment technology for managing grey and black water waste. The company has accumulated over 30 years of experience related to wastewater treatment and complying with the waste handling needs dictated by the marine industry. The technology consists of a wastewater treatment process that is in reality based on biological degradation along with membrane separation. Thus it is able to deliver the highest quality discharge possible without requiring the adding or generating of chemicals that are hazardous when regarding the maritime and the shipboard environments. The Wärtsilä Hamworthy MBR is fully capable to meet and comply with both current and future effluent quality standards and requirements.
Source: Wärtsilä