Optimarin: BWT Market Is Accelerating

The ballast water treatment (BWT) market has recently seen positive developments, BWT specialist Optimarin said, reflecting on a surge in new orders and revenues.

This Norway-based firm, which has now sold close to 600 of its USCG-approved Optimarin Ballast Systems (OBS), has shattered its initial growth forecasts for the year to date, with both orders and income up by over 50% year-on-year.

“2017 was our best ever year in business, so we honestly didn’t expect to outperform last year’s figures so comprehensively,” Tore Andersen, Optimarin CEO, said.

“The fact that we’ve done so demonstrates (…) that shipowners and operators are now being galvanized into action by the ratification of IMO’s Ballast Water Management convention and the need to conform,” Andersen pointed out.

“This is excellent news for the environment and a positive development for those of us in the BWT sector that have invested many millions of dollars in testing, certifying and bringing our systems to market,” he continued.

Optimarin sold more than 60 OBS last year and has already signed contracts in 2018 to supply another 50.

“Owners around the world are aware they are under pressure to act on this major environmental issue. So they’re assessing suppliers to see which systems are market proven, simple, effective and easy to install on both newbuilds and retrofits,” Andersen further said.

The firm has also been offering solutions in the retrofit segment, with around 140 OBS now installed. Global engineering partners Goltens and Zeppelin account for the majority of these projects, but the simplicity of the technology also means that crews have been able to install systems while vessels are undertaking normal operations, as explained by Optimarin.

“We expect the market to continue accelerating and are looking to sign more framework agreements in the immediate future. The company is solid, with positive equity of approximately 50% and a stable group of investors, and focused on exploiting what we see as the huge growth potential moving forward. We now expect 2018 to be our new ‘best ever year in business’,” Andersen concluded.