
Fairdeal Marine Services, one of the leading maritime businesses in the Middle East Gulf solely dedicated to the protection of the marine environment, is expanding to meet customer requirements originating from the stricter IMO 2020 rules which came into force in January this year.
The company has recently signed an agreement with Zeologic, a subsidiary of Mytilineos group, for the construction of the first treatment plant for oily sludge and sludge from flue gas treatment systems. The expectation is that the first facility of this type will be established in the UAE by the end of 2020, and will be able to treat waste and sludge deriving from exhaust gas scrubbers, based on the stricter provisions of the revised MARPOL Annex 1. The plant’s design will be based on an integrated environmental and economic waste management process, creating a facility with low footprint requirements which will be ready to respond to future environmental challenges.
Zeologic’s patented technology leaves post-treatment waste in a condition that is not environmentally hazardous. Such waste can, as a result, be disposed of safely and cheaply, Fairdeal points out, claiming that no comparable facility using Zeologic’s nanotechnology-based method currently exists.
Established in Greece in 1978, Fairdeal pioneered the development of offshore floating facilities to handle MARPOL 73/78 Annex I disposal requirements. A similar facility was established in the UAE in 1985, giving the company 35 years of experience of operating in the Middle East.
Fairdeal says it is committed to continuing to build on its specialist leadership and knowledge in the safe and eco-friendly handling of Annex I waste and points out that taking care of the marine environment has always been at the heart of its business strategy.
Fairdeal and Zeologic envisage the installation of more scrubber waste treatment plants using this technology in the Gulf region. These will address the well-recognised environmental problems of the region and the need to install state of the art infrastructure to support green shipping.