Tech File: oneTank Ballast Water Treatment System

In mid-September, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Center issued the 35th USCG Ballast Water Management System Type Approval Certificate after a detailed review of Seattle-based manufacturer oneTank, LLC’s type approval application determined its system met the requirements of 46 CFR 162.060.

The recent U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Approval, which follows the DNV GL Certificate of Approval awarded on behalf of the Norwegian Maritime Authority in compliance with the International Maritime Organization BWMS Code in July 2020, completes the suite of international approvals required for the oneTank ballast water treatment system.

“We are pleased to receive these approvals, applicable for all ballast water salinities and temperatures. Superintendents and operators have been looking for a product like oneTank, keeping it simple when you only need to treat one or a few ballast water tanks,” said Kevin Reynolds, managing director of oneTank, LLC, a Glosten spinoff company.

With oneTank now type approved by the U.S. Coast Guard and Norway, regulatory compliance is ensured worldwide, including the United States where the system was conceived by Glosten engineers who have worked on ballast water treatment problems since 1999. The system’s developers recognized that many operators have needs that are not being met by existing product offerings. Where existing systems have mostly been developed with larger ships in mind, oneTank focuses on the tankship aftpeak tank, which results in a light, simple and compact system that requires only 15 amps of electrical power. oneTank’s reduced footprint of just two square-feet also meets demand from small vessels such as yachts and workboats that are balancing power and space restrictions with meeting requirements.

Engineered as a low-cost ($65,000 per system) treatment option intended for vessels that do not need a complex solution, oneTank is a derivative of the inTank dispersal system brought to market by parent company Glosten, Envirocleanse, and Scienco/FAST and patent protected by U.S. Geological Survey. The inTank system treats ballast water within the vessel’s ballast tank and has no filters, no ultra-violet bulbs and no electrolytic generators. Similarly, oneTank is an in-tank, bulk chemical treatment process for ballast tanks up to 4,000 cubic meters, with in-tank neutralization prior to discharge.

Sean Ritchie, oneTank’s chief engineer, said, “This is a third-generation technology. What differentiates oneTank from other treatment systems is its simplicity, which makes it easy to install, operate and service.”

No compressed air, fresh water, or other auxiliary supports are needed. And with no filters to clog or clean, treatment is achieved by applying and mixing bulk chemical in-tank. This process means users can treat on their own schedules, avoiding busy in-port times, the manufacturer said, adding that the system’s operation is fully automatic, supporting local or remote operation. oneTank can treat 4,000 cubic meters of ballast water in under 30 hours.

The system uses 8.25% sodium hypochlorite (bleach) solution and 30% sodium thiosulfate solution – chemicals that can be purchased from chemical suppliers worldwide.