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Press Release
For more information, please contact:
Ecochlor, Inc.
Tom Perlich
President
(205) 980-1131
tpp@ecochlor.com
Ecochlor, Inc. and Atlantic Container Line Collaborate to Demonstrate the
Effectiveness of the Ecochlor Ballast Water Treatment System
Aboard M/V Atlantic Compass.
ACTON, MASS – (September 2, 2004) – Ecochlor, Inc. and Atlantic Container Line (ACL), announced today that the two companies are collaborating to demonstrate the effectiveness of Ecochlor’s patented Ecochlor Ballast Water Treatment System that has been designed to safely and economically eliminate unwanted aquatic species from ballast water. Trials have begun with the Atlantic Compass, one of the largest combination RORO/Containerships in the world.
According to Ecochlor President Tom Perlich, “Chlorine dioxide has been used for 50 years to treat industrial water and drinking water, but has never been used to treat seawater. We have conducted extensive research at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography to prove the effectiveness of chlorine dioxide against invasive species, and have worked over the last three years to develop the Ecochlor System, designed specifically for marine applications. We are pleased to be working with ACL over the upcoming months to demonstrate the effectiveness of our systems on a large commercial ship.”
Robert Moore, Vice President Marine Operations & Terminals of ACL adds, “ We are proud to be working with Ecochlor to deal with this environmental issue. We have carefully examined other approaches and believe Ecochlor’s can set the standard. The ACL RORO/Containerships are Swedish flagged vessels that carry cargo between Europe and North America. It is, therefore, an excellent choice for an international demonstration of the Ecochlor System.”
The worldwide transfer of aquatic invasive species poses severe environmental, economic and public health issues and is now a major international concern. For over a hundred years, oceangoing vessels have been designed to carry ballast water to facilitate stability and safe maneuverability. Since the 1970’s, however, with the advent of larger, faster ships and the globalization of trade, the amount of ballast water being used and discharged around the world has increased dramatically.
International standards requiring the treatment of ballast water are currently being adopted, and in the U.S. a number of states have passed, or are in the process of passing, laws mandating the treatment of ballast water.
About Ecochlor
Ecochlor (www.ecochlor.com), founded
in 2001, has developed a proprietary, state-of-the–art ballast water treatment
system to provide a global solution to the transfer of aquatic invasive species.
Ecochlor's system, the Ecochlor Ballast Water Treatment System, has been
patented in the U.S., and other patents are pending in the U.S. and internationally.
Ecochlor Systems provide the shipping industry with a cost effective, environmentally
acceptable treatment system, which provides immediate compliance with all enacted
and proposed standards and regulations. Ecochlor’s in-house experts and team
of strategic partners not only supply complete design and fabrication of the
Ecochlor Systems, but also marine engineering, naval architecture, chemical
treatment expertise, shipboard installation and ongoing technical and regulatory
certification support.
Ecochlor is based in the USA with capabilities to install, service and support systems throughout the world.
About Atlantic Container Line:
Atlantic Container Line (www.aclcargo.com)
provides liner transportation services for containers, project and oversized
cargo, heavy equipment and vehicles with five of the world’s largest combination
G3 Roll-on Roll-Off/Containerships. ACL is headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey
with offices throughout Europe and North America. A portfolio of five weekly
transatlantic sailings, covering ports in North America and Europe. ACL markets
its RORO space exclusively with its weekly A Service calling Baltimore, Norfolk,
New York And Halifax, Liverpool, Antwerp, Bremerhaven and Gothenburg. ACL also
offers RORO services from North America to Africa and the Mediterranean. Supplementing
the G3 trans-Atlantic service, ACL also offers four additional pure container
strings for a total of five weekly transatlantic services.
In addition to the G3 vessels, ACL owns two Multi-purpose RORO vessels, “Grande Brasile and Grande Argentina” which are time chartered to the Grimaldi Group.
ACL is a member of the Grimaldi Group of Naples, Italy.
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