Hyde Marine announced today that its Hyde Guardian ballast water treatment system (BWTS) received Type Approval from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) on September 13, 2011.

Hyde Guardian was the first BWTS to receive Product Design Assessment (PDA) certification from ABS in April 2010. PDA is the technical approval for equipment and is the first step in receiving ABS Type Approval.

Founded in 1862, ABS is a leading international classification society devoted to promoting the security of life, property and the marine environment through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities. ABS certifies that marine vessels and offshore structures comply with its established rules for design, construction and periodic survey.

John Platz, general manager, UV Technologies Division, Calgon Carbon, commented, “We are honored that the Hyde Guardian is among the first ballast water management systems to be recognized with ABS Type Approval, further supporting our goal to continue to provide the marine industry with safe, efficient, and cost-effective ballast water treatment systems that address the growing concern over the introduction of invasive species into local marine environments.”

Hyde Guardian was Type Approved in 2009 by Lloyd’s Register on behalf of the UK Maritime and Coast Guard Agency (MCA), confirming compliance with IMO Resolution MEPC.174 (58) Guidelines. Testing was conducted at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), the most challenging ballast water test facility in the world, in accordance with IMO G8 Guidelines and demonstrating reliable performance in difficult operating conditions.

The Hyde Guardian system uses efficient, automatic backflushing depth filtration to remove sediment and organisms, and a powerful UV disinfection system to destroy or inactivate smaller organisms and bacteria. The combination of these technologies has proven both cost-effective and reliable in shipboard operation.

The Hyde Guardian is fully automated and can be integrated into the ship’s ballast control system. The compact design can be skid mounted for new construction or delivered in modules for easy installation in crowded machinery spaces on existing vessels.

Type Approved models are available for ballast flow rates from 60 to 6000 m3/hr, making Hyde’s competitively priced, low risk ballast water management solution available for vessels of all types and sizes.