6th July, 2011: Eckelmann invests in disposal fleet

Hamburg, 6th July 2011: The Carl Robert Eckelmann Cleaning and Service GmbH, provider of land and water side ships as well as industrial cleansing, of disposal logistics, emergency management offers additional capacity for the disposal of oily water from residues of ship tanks. Recently, the Eckelmann Group acquired another ship for the tank fleet, modernised and equipped in compliance with the Marpol* conventions. One of its first assignments leads the “Marpol-Taxi” to the M/S “Europa”, the flagship of the well-known shipping company Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten.

In the early morning hours on the 5th of July the M/S “Europa” reached the Hamburg Cruise Center where the “Marpol- Taxi” of Eckelmann Group was waiting already in order to collect 20m³ sludge from the bilge tanks of the luxury cruise liner. This is a rather small quantity having in mind that the “Marpol- Taxi” is able to gather up 150m³ of waste oil in one carriage.

For around two hours, the M/S “Europa” pumped the residues into the “Marpol- Taxi”, always under supervision of a professional tank cleaner from the Eckelmann Group who must be present at all times during the process. Since a leak in a pipe or an overflowed tank could cause a disastrous water pollution or contamination. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that Eckelmann Group provides a proper special training for its staff as well as guaranteeing high security standards that must be certified regularly.

After having finished the collection, the “Marpol- Taxi” brought the residues to the HÖG, Hamburger Ölverwertungs- Gesellschaft mbH in the centre of the harbour at Kattwyk. The HÖG that also belongs to the Eckelmann Group, is the biggest treatment facility of Marpol and fluid industrial waste in Hamburg. It possesses over 30.000m³ fuel storage depot and the most modern devices for chemical and physical treatment of residues of different kinds of waste. In this plant, the sludge undergoes a complex process where it’s separated into water, oil and sediment. The cleansed water is monitored until the discharge by rigid restrictions of the Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt (BSU) in Hamburg. The remaining residues are processed by the HÖG for recycling and clearance.

With the “Marpol- Taxi”, the business division Eckelmann Umwelt is equipped with more than 20 land and water vehicles in the waste disposal branch. The ships for treatment and processing of slope and bilge water, barges, tank vacuum vehicles have over 1500m³ total capacities. Last year, Eckelmann Umwelt collected and recycled over 60.000 tons of ship residues. Thus, the Eckelmann Group made a major contribution for the sustainability of the harbour of Hamburg. Through the expansion of disposal capacities, the Eckelmann Group invests in the harbour as the growing motor of the hanseatic City and thereby secures the unproblematic disposal logistics despite the increasing traffic volume.

“There are strict rules concerning ship residues and waste oil disposal in Hamburg, which need to be respected by all means”, says Patrick Eckelmann, managing director of Carl Robert Eckelmann Cleaning and Service GmbH. “With the new ‘Marpol-Taxi’, we have expanded our services and capacities for our clients and simultaneously, we meet the high standards of an efficient disposal management of the Hamburger Umweltbehörde regarding the Green Port initiative. Our clients and associates especially appreciate our high quality, security and reliability standards.

*Marpol (Marine Pollution) adopted in 1973, its recommendations cover the prevention of marine pollution by dangerous goods carried by the sea in packaged form, and are amplified by the IMDG code.

Press contact:
Eckelmann Gruppe
Karen Thormählen
phone: +49-(0)40-31 17 03-18
email: kthormaehlen@cretul.de

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