The Shipping Oscar for Westfalia Separator

SeaProtect Solutions, the system for processing bilgewater and sludge at sea, which was  launched on the market only a few years ago, is making headlines. The BilgeMaster treatment system from the SeaProtect Solutions programme of  Westfalia Separator Mineraloil Systems, Oelde, has received the most coveted award of international shipping, which is considered to be the "Shipping Oscar". At the end of 2006 at the Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition, the Business Unit Marine received the  Seatrade Dubai International Maritime Award  which is recognised world-wide for environmental protection. SeaProtect Solutions have accordingly received the highest public recognition.

And the winner was …
More than 150 applicants took part in the competition which was held in a total of 11 categories. Westfalia Separator Mineraloil Systems  was shortlisted in the environmental protection category right from the very beginning. The official award ceremony was held on the occasion of the Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition. A jury of experts selected the best of the best: The jury panel included the Secretary General of the International  Maritime Organisation (IMO), a sub-organisation of the UN,   Efthimios Mitropoulos, as well as Captain Duncan McKelvie, Chairman of the Nautical Institute of the United Arab Emirates, Captain Jitendra Misra, Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers as well as Anthony Muncer, Chairman of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, in the United Arab Emirates. The environmental protection award was sponsored by the renowned classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

And the winner was …: The Area Sales Manager of Westfalia Separator Mineraloil Systems Business Unit Marine, Richard Holthaus, had the honour of receiving the award on the evening of 4 December 2006 in front of an audience of around 800 guests from the hands of the Chairman and Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), Mohammad Souri.

Extremely reliable
The unbeatable advantage of the BilgeMaster system, which the jury also recognised with its decision, is its extremely high reliability. Centrifugal systems have been used in shipping for 85 years, and are known to the ship's crew, for instance also in fuel and lubee oil systems. The ship's crew is the operator of the system, and does not require any additional training; the separators are relatively easy to handle. A further advantage is that the centrifugal BilgeMaster system also works without any chemicals or other consumables. The purely mechanical system functions in a simple manner.

There was a correspondingly strong response at the Dubai Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition after the award ceremony. Not only ship operators but also various classification societies were very interested in this technology of the future which offers reliable functioning.

In the Business Unit Marine of Westfalia Separator Mineraloil Systems, SeaProtect Solutions has tripled revenues and volume sales of the systems during the past two years, and the trend is still rising. Many shipping companies are retrofitting the BilgeMaster, SludgeMaster or CombiMaster systems to existing fleets or are equipping new vessels with the systems right from the very beginning.