OREANDA-NEWS. June 16, 2011. Two vessels to be built by Fincantieri for Princess Cruises will become the latest luxury cruise ships to feature Hamworthy’s Membrane BioReactor (MBR), the technology specifically designed to meet wastewater discharge requirements in even the most sensitive of seas.

Each 3,600 passenger capacity, 141,000gt ‘Ruby Evolution’ class ship will be fitted with two Hamworthy MBR24 systems, to enable responsible operations anywhere in the world.

With the delivery date for the first vessel due in spring 2013, the first two MBRs will be delivered in August 2011, for installation/commissioning by December 2012. The second vessel is due to be delivered in spring 2014 with equipment delivery in May 2012 and installation/commissioning by December 2013.

Doug Verge, MBR Project Manager said: “It is clear that there will be no let up in the tightening of global and regional standards on wastewater discharge. The fact that these ships will spend part of their operating time in sensitive seas was a key factor in our technology being selected, as Hamworthy’s MBR system continues to develop in anticipation of regulations and remains at the forefront of shipboard wastewater management.”

Hamworthy’s MBR has been shown to surpass new IMO wastewater discharge regulations by a significant margin: it achieves suspended solids limits of 3.1mg/l, BOD5 of 2.6mg/l, while faecal coliform is limited to 10.6 cfu per 100m/l. Both residual chlorine levels and pH are also within limits defined for sensitive waters.

Based on biological degradation and membrane separation, the MBR yields the highest quality discharge without requiring any addition or generation of chemicals hazardous to the maritime or shipboard environment.

To date, Hamworthy has supplied over 100 MBR units to a range of new and existing cruise ships, ferries, offshore rigs, naval ships, and yachts since their introduction in 2000.