Superyacht sewage system review


Client: Confidential
Service division: Optimisation; Engineering
Sector: Marine


AFECO was commissioned by a superyacht yard to act as independent process experts to identify and verify the causes of the poor performance of the sewage treatment systems they had installed on-board a number of their superyacht vessels both in commission and under construction. The installed sewage treatment system had been designed to meet the effluent standards detailed in the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) resolution MEPC.159(55) but a number of the units had experienced performance issues and the yard is keen to resolve the issues.

AFECO carried out a number of visits to various vessels to assess each installed treatment system for process and mechanical differences and to carry out process evaluations on the operational systems to identify the causes of poor performance. This evaluation included on-board analysis of samples using laboratory equipment and the assessment of on-board cleaning products to ensure they are suitable for use with biological systems.  AFECO identified the causes of poor performance and carried out a re-design of the system to incorporate the modifications required to optimise the process performance.

The services provided by AFECO included:

  • Process and performance assessment
  • Mechanical evaluation
  • Full system evaluations including tracing of all possible plant inputs and yacht product usage
  • Design modifications
  • CAD drawings

Superyacht sewage system assessment


Client: Confidential
Service division: Optimisation; Engineering
Sector: Marine


AFECO was commissioned to carry out an independent process evaluation of the sewage system on board a privately owned superyacht to identify the causes of the on-going poor performance. The installed sewage treatment system was designed to meet the effluent standards detailed in the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) resolution MEPC.2(VI) which was subsequently replaced by resolution MEPC.159(55) but had failed to meet operational standards.

AFECO was commissioned to survey and re-commission the plant to determine whether the system could be optimised to meet consent requirements as well as to assess the systems performance and carry out an evaluation of the design . The system was re-commissioned following an extensive on-board survey which included identifying all possible sources of influent to the system and reviewing the products used for cleaning to ensure they were suitably biologically friendly. The process performance was evaluated using supporting laboratory analysis and the causes of the operational problems identified and detailed in an extensive report.

The work carried out by AFECO included:

  • Plant loading assessment
  • Full system evaluation including tracing of all possible plant inputs and yacht product usage
  • Process performance evaluation including laboratory analysis
  • Identification of process problems
  • Recommendations for system improvement supported by detailed reporting

Superyacht sewage system optimisation


Client: Confidential
Service division: Optimisation; Engineering
Sector: Marine


AFECO was commissioned by a privately owned superyacht to act as independent process experts in identifying the causes of the poor performance of the on-board sewage treatment system to support an on-going warranty claim. The installed sewage treatment system was designed to meet the effluent standards detailed in the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) resolution MEPC.2(VI) which was subsequently replaced by resolution MEPC.159(55) but had failed to meet operational standards since its installation.

AFECO was commissioned to survey and re-commission the plant to determine whether the system could be optimised to meet consent requirements as well as to assess the systems performance and carry out an evaluation of the design and previous performance information. The system was re-commissioned following an extensive on-board survey which included identifying all possible sources of influent to the system and reviewing the products used for cleaning to ensure they were suitably biologically friendly. The process performance was evaluated using supporting laboratory analysis and the causes of the operational problems identified and detailed in an extensive report.

The work carried out by AFECO included:

  • Design evaluation
  • Plant loading assessment
  • Full system evaluation including tracing of all possible plant inputs and yacht product usage
  • Process performance evaluation including laboratory analysis
  • Identification of process problems
  • Recommendations for system improvement supported by detailed reporting