THE GREEN YACHT
Unfortunately for most yacht owners and captains, spilled oil and pollutants in the bilge are a fact of life. It's simply impossible to monitor all of the bilge compartments onboard a vessel and to prevent these pollutants from entering the environment 100% of the time.
As much as it may be disheartening to think about the ecological ramifications of such unintended pollution, there is also the pressing issue of fines and certification to be dealt with. Today, government regulations dictate an allowable 15 PPM, or 15 parts per million. This means that yachts are allowed to send 14 gallons of oil and/or fuel over the side as long as it's evenly mixed with one million gallons of water. At about 30 PPM, a faint ghost sheen becomes visible on the surface of the water.
To become certified, many of the larger yachts are forced to install expensive and cumbersome centrifuge type oily water separators coupled to 15 PPM oil monitors that generally remain offline because they don't work. This unfortunate situation leaves even the most ecologically-minded captains' yachts polluting the environment as the engineer secretly rigs a bypass in order to discharge the accumulated bilge water. It would seem that there is no way to securely keep oil out of the discharge, and many have simply given up the search.
Today, as several forward-thinking captains are discovering, there is a reliable way to filter pollutants out of discharge. Utilizing a far simpler technology, Arid Bilge Systems, Inc. has developed a complete solution.
Pictured at right is the full eco-friendly "Green Yacht" system aboard the 120' M/Y Cortina, which was commissioned by Newcastle Shipyards in early 2010.
The 120' Trideck M/Y Cortina from Newcastle Shipyards
Starboard forward engine room bulkhead on Cortina