Mitsui OSK Lines has claimed a world first by fitting a microplastics collection device on a merchant ship.
The Japanese shipowner and operator has developed the equipment with domestic marine equipment company Miura.
A trial took place last month on a new MOL woodchip carrier under construction in Japan.
The device is activated during operation of the ballast water treatment system, with collection intended to take place during cargo-handling operations, MOL said.
The kit uses a filter with a backwashing function, collecting microplastics trapped in the filter right before the treated water is discharged overboard.
The company did not specify which ship had been used.
First demonstration
MOL has six bulkers on order at Namura Shipbuilding and Oshima Shipbuilding, ranging in size from 52,000 dwt to 92,000 dwt.
"MOL is the world’s first operator to install and demonstrate the microplastics collective device on a merchant vessel," the company said.
MOL added that the project team continues to improve the system.
Methods are being examined to make it easier for crew members to use the kit and increase its collection capacity.
"Marine plastic waste, generated every day all over the world, remains in the sea for an extended period of time, causing grave concerns about global-scale environmental pollution," MOL said.
Expanding work on plastics pollution
The company's initiative on ocean plastic pollution began with participation in the Plastic Smart forum hosted by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment.
Since then, MOL has been expanding activities, including marine plastic pollution-related scientific research with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
Miura produces ballast water treatment systems, and sold 1,200 in the 2020 financial year.
Other shipowners have been looking at what they can do to help the plastics problem.
Stena-owned tanker company Concordia Maritime said in 2018 that its ships would be gathering data on the impact of the problem on marine life. In Norway, Torvald Klaveness and Kongsberg teamed up earlier this year to map the extent of the dispersal in oceans.
