Optimarin, the leading ballast water treatment specialist, has announced its best ever start to a year, signing a series of fleet contracts, frame agreements and system orders to continue the positive trend recorded in fourth quarter of 2020. 

 

The latest contract is a fleet agreement for 30 vessels, with an as yet unnamed owner, which follows on from a 40-ship exclusive frame agreement signed in January, and the extension of an existing fleet contract.

 

A series of other orders, many from new customers, has pushed sales figures past 100 units for 2021 so far, said its top official.

 

"For Optimarin this latest contract award acts as a further confirmation of our strong position as a leading BWTS supplier," remarked its CEO Leiv Kallestad.

 

"Not only is the customer trusting in the quality of the system and our capacity to deliver it in a timely manner, but also recognizing our first-class customer support and ability to offer the market one of the absolute best performing BWT systems available. Seen as a whole, these qualities make for a very attractive proposition for new and existing customers alike," he noted. 

 

Tore Andersen, Optimarin EVP Sales and Marketing, said the segment was now picking up quickly ahead of impending regulatory compliance.

 

"We’ve seen some hesitation in the market to sign orders since the advent of the global pandemic – due to understandable commercial uncertainty – but we now see ship owners moving swiftly to ensure they get the systems they want, when and where they want them, to ensure global compliance," observed Andersen.

 

"There is a retrofit wave hitting and that puts obvious pressure on engineering and supply chains, especially with the potential shortage of key components within many industries as a result of current logistics challenges," he stated. 

 

"Owners are aware of the situation and are now positioning to secure the best technology at a time and place that fits in with their fleets’ busy operational schedules. Lost time due to deviating from set routes and not getting the installations they want is lost money, which nobody wants," he added.-