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Club de Mar Mallorca. The largest Superyacht dock in the Mediterranean

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Flovac’s vacuum sanitation system is going to be included in the remodelling taking place at the marina Club de Mar Mallorca, which will include the fitting out of a new superyacht pier. The pier will be able to accommodate four yachts between 170 and 136 meters and up to 24 beam lengths. Therefore, the marina will commemorate its 50th anniversary with an innovative, reliable and green sanitation solution.

Flovac will supply and install all of the vacuum sewerage equipment. This will be used for both the vessels at berth and for the buildings in the marina as well. Flovac was chosen for this major project due to their detailed experience with major marinas around the world. Flovac valves and equipment is built under European standards and ISO codes.

Vacuum sanitation is preferred for marinas because all pipework can reach the collection pits with shallow trenches and will not leak.  For luxury marinas, Flovac designed a AISI316 stainless steel bollard. Flovac bollards have accessories to connect hoses that suck wastewater from vessels. For the superyachts that have discharge pumps, Flovac will supply connection points with diverse dimensions to adapt to the pier. Bollards with a hose connection under vacuum pressure is for yachts without discharge pumps.

The vacuum system has sensors that notifies the marina manager of the vacuum valve condition as well as the pump and tank status. We also provide software to calculate the flow from the megayachts.

If you would like more information about Flovacs other marina projects please Click here

Flovac Protecting the Environment in Barcelona

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Flovac was in charge of the design and installation of a Flovac vacuum sewerage system at the MB92 Port of Barcelona expansion project to collect wastewater and ensure that no environmental damage could occur in the area.

MB92 expands its installations at Barcelona’s port

Marina Barcelona 92 (MB92), a company dedicated to the maintenance and repair of superyachts, was in charge of carrying out the ambitious project to expand the port coastline of Barcelona, in the Port Vell area. The project, started in 2015 and completed in 2019, consisted of the construction of a large surface area in which a new boat lifting system (known as shiplift) would be located, with the aim of grounding yachts of up to 4,000 tons for repair and maintenance. Currently, it is the largest shiplift in the world dedicated exclusively to yachts.

The Project

The project, which involved a total investment of 50 million euros, was completed in August 2019 after 4 years of work. Thanks to the shiplift, customers have more ability than ever to work out of the water, which offers more flexibility, capacity and opportunities when it comes to maintaining and repairing yachts. Since its launch, the shiplift has already carried 22 superyachts with an average of over 75m LOA. It is a feat of world-class civil engineering in the heart of the port of Barcelona.

Raising Capacity

  • Capacity to lift vessels up to 115m LOA.
  • 30,000m2 hard standing area to host up to 9 vessels of up to 115m LOA on dry land
  • Hard standing area includes integrated keel pit with dimensions of 8m depth, 5m width and 14.5m length.
  • Bidirectional rail system to facilitate flexible and more efficient maneuverability of vessels once hauled out.
  • Supply of all essential services such as fresh water and shore power connections.

Flovac Looking after the Environment

Flovac was commissioned to install a vacuum sewerage system in this project in order to collect the wastewater generated by MB92’s activity. The goal of Flovac and the products it offers is to reduce the human footprint. Therefore, one of the main priorities was to guarantee the environmental protection of the area. The installation is made up of 2 independent vacuum networks; one for the wastewater from buildings and yachts, and the other one for industrial wastewater produced from yacht repair. The industrial wastewater is transported to a new treatment plant, at MB92’s own facilities. The facility has 4 tanks with 2 vacuum valves each. Flovac has finished the commissioning this July.

To find out more about Flovac’s port and marina projects you can click here

Sydney Superyacht Marina gets a Flovac Makeover

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Clemens Overdijk – Marina Manager at the Sydney Superyacht Marina

Sydney Superyacht Marina Sewage Pump Out System Upgrade

This standout marina was first built in the late nineties to accommodate visitors to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Since that time, not only have the yachts gotten bigger but the requirements of many of the yacht owners have reached the point where a number of upgrades to facilities are required. Clemens Overdijk, the Marina Manager since 2016 has been very interested in ensuring that their customers get the best experience possible.

One aspect that is very important to many yacht owners is the ability to quickly and cleanly discharge any wastewater from their vessels. No one wants leaks or the risk of overflows, or odours and importantly no one wants to spend hours tied up discharging wastewater. Or even worse needing to go to a different marina to discharge. There are many smaller marinas now unable to handle the size of the tanks, or the depth of the yachts, causing them to go elsewhere, at quite a cost. An important bonus for the yacht owners is that each berth offers a direct connection to the vacuum system.

Clemens looked at a variety of solutions from around the world and found that Flovac, a local company, was doing large scale marina sewage systems at a number of large marinas around the world and catering to the largest of yachts. These included projects in Barcelona, Spain, Italy and Greece, home of the superyachts.

Remote Activation of Pumps

One aspect of the work that Flovac had been doing around the world  was in the technology space. Flovac has pioneered the use of IOT (Internet of Things) technologies to enable remote

New Pump Station Upgrade and touch screen application

troubleshooting of the system as well as remote operation of the system. Many existing pump out systems require the yacht manager to locate the pump station, turn it on manually (if it is working), go back to their yacht to start the operation which may take many hours to complete. If someone else is using it, or if there is a problem, it may well affect the ability of the yacht to get back into action in a timely manner. Flovac has developed an app for the phone, which the yacht owner can log into from the comfort of his or her yacht. At a glance they can see if the facility is available. Couple the yacht to the access port, push start on the phone and discharge the wastewater.

System Success

The very first yacht that tried out the new system was a new 65m superyacht, one of the larger yachts at the marina. They had experienced a lot of difficulty with the old system, often having to go to a different marina altogether as the system could not handle receiving pumped flows. With the new system, the 6,000 litre discharge took less than an hour and a “smooth operation”for all involved. Telling our operator and other boat owners that this was the best system that they had come across in Australia.

The “significant investment” that required securing the best system has now become part of the key features of the marina that gives captains the confidence that SSM can meet their requirements.

Sydney Superyacht Marina

If you would like more information about the work Flovac has done at Marinas and Ports please Read Here

For an overview of the Sydney Superyacht Marina you can view that here

Contact here for a concept design or budget for your Marina

First Flovac Project in Vietnam – The Ana Marina in Nha Trang

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The Riviera of the South China Sea

Vietnam’s first marina is nearing completion, and will include Flovac’s first vacuum system in the country. Upon completion it will contain berths for over two hundred yachts and Super-yachts. Ana Marina in Nha Trang on the south east coast of Vietnam will be the country’s first world class marina, initially offering 60 berths for vessels of 20-40m and extra wide berths for catamarans. 

Future phases will include a super yacht dock for six yachts up to 70m in length and an additional 100m berth is under consideration. The remaining berths, to bring the overall total to 220, will accommodate yachts of 10 to 20m and will be operational by 2021.

General Manager of the project, Ruurd Van Putten, gave us his insight. “It’s a unique project in Vietnam that will ignite a whole new industry. Yachting is generally known for its high standard, quality and innovation. Marinas have proven to be a catalyst for economic growth, development of tourism and overall improvement of leisure services and facilities.

With environmental concerns a high priority in coastal developments, Ana Marina is heavily focused on the key concepts of Sustainability, Durability and Responsibility. “A marina means less pollution, cleaner water, and protection to vulnerable marine life. It will have special systems to prevent spillage of oil, fuel and waste of boats.

This will result in better water quality allowing plants, coral and fish to grow un-threatened, and also a safe and clean area to swim and play. We are dedicated to raising awareness that the sea is the beating heart and lifeline of Nha Trang, and must be preserved and protected at all costs”, Ruurd concluded.

A Flovac Vacuum Marina system was chosen as it has been demonstrated that it can provide certainty around the environmental benefits that the client has determined to be of absolute importance. Flovac marina systems have been installed in a number of high profile areas including in Barcelona, Greece, Italy and the Caribbean.

The Flovac systems look after boats of all sizes and can include the handling of bilge water and oil separation.  The larger Superyachts pump their wastewater or bilgewater into a Flovac collection chamber which can be sized and designed to fit into the marina area.

For smaller boats a pillar that often houses water and power will have a connection point for a hose that will suck the wastewater from the boats. This is often done by the marina operator or can also be via a key card or code-pad operation by the boat owner. Flovac has initially supplied 9 pillars to the project and all are connected to a single vacuum pump station. All of the pillars will be located on floating pontoons.

The main benefits of the Flovac vacuum sewerage system is that it will not leak into the water and is very easy to install. All points of the system are fully monitored from the central command center as so easily managed. To see more details of our marina systems please go to this page.

Glossy Bay Resort and Marina Project opens in the Caribbean

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Flovac’s latest project in the Caribbean has opened in Canouan at Glossy Bay Resort and Marina with Flovac providing a plug and play containerized vacuum system and treatment plant.

The system at the Glossy Bay Marina and Resort will support a luxury marina which will accommodate mega yachts in excess of 100 meters in length. There will also be hotels villa’s, restaurants and other facilities. The island of Canouan is a two hour ferry ride to the main island of St Vincent of the St Vincent and the Grenadines group of islands in the Southern part of the Caribbean.

As the project was quite remote Flovac supplied a containerized plug and play vacuum pump station and treatment plant. All water on the island is supplied by a desalination plant, so water is precious and spared as much as possible. Treatment quality is very important so that this pristine area is not polluted in any way.

The containerized system has been used in deployable situations on a number of projects and is a great way to transport and set up a project. You can read more about Flovac’s deployable solutions HERE

Flovac vacuum sewerage and marine systems have become very well respected among the boating community. Flovac has completed many world class marina facilities around the world, including Italy, Australia, Greece and Spain. It was the completion of the latest super yacht facility at Marina Vela in Barcelona that caught the attention of the owners in Canouan.

You can read more about Flovac’s experience with Marina’s and why a Flovac solution is often chosen in this interview with Flovac’s expert Mr Francisco Rodríguez

There are many positive reasons for using a vacuum system in this type of project. Fast, easy and cheap installation are some of the key attributes, but importantly for this client was the reduced risk of any overflows of sewage into the water area’s. This is a first class resort and the beach and marina areas need to be pristine. The system can also easily be monitored and maintained by the resorts utility personnel as no specialist equipment is required to handle the vacuum system.

 

 

Interview with Marina Expert for Flovac, Francisco Rodríguez

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Francisco Rodríguez

At the end of 2017, aguasresiduales.info, Spain’s leading journal on wastewater and sanitation interviewed Flovac Spain’s Technical Director to understand the massive growth in the vacuum sewerage industry in Spain and elsewhere, particularly for Marina and Port infrastructure.

This is a translation from the original article which can be found here.

We speak with Francisco Rodríguez, Technical Manager of FLOVAC Spain, about vacuum sanitation in Ports and Marinas

The company FLOVAC Vacuum Sewerage Systems, is the world’s largest designer, manufacturer and supplier of complete vacuum sewerage systems Among its solutions, one of the fastest growing solutions is the complete sanitation of marinas and commercial ports, where a vacuum sewerage network allows the operator to manage the port’s own sanitation network and at the same time service the collection of wastewater from the boats.

Francisco, in general terms, how does a vacuum sanitation system installed in ports and marinas work?  

A Flovac valve connected to the vacuum network is installed at each connection point. When it detects that there is about 20 cm of water in the sump, the valve opens, sucks in the water, sucks in air and closes again in a matter of 2 or 3 seconds. All this without electricity, only with the force of the vacuum.

The only point that needs electricity is the vacuum station. The vacuum pumps located in the station maintain a constant vacuum level in the vacuum network that covers the entire port or marina. A tank collects the wastewater before being driven or pumped to the municipal collector or sewage treatment plant.

What advantages does this vacuum sanitation offer compared to traditional sanitation in this type of site? In marinas and ports, the water table is very high and has often been filled with breakwater, so deep ditches are extremely expensive and technically complicated. Thanks to the force of the vacuum, the pipes can be installed at a shallow depth and serve the entire port or marina with a single vacuum station. The wells where buildings and megayachts are poured can also be shallow, since the valve only needs 20 cm of water to act.

The vacuum station itself can be buried (for space or aesthetics) or it can be on the surface, without the need for excavation. Another advantage would be the absence of odors, since when emptying the well each time there is 20 cm of water (about 50 liters), the residence time is minimal and avoids the appearance of the smell characteristic of pumping. In addition, the valve remains open a couple of seconds after emptying the well, so it renews its air. The network of pipes is watertight, since any leakage is detected in the vacuum station and an alarm occurs. In addition, in case of leakage, air will be sucked through the fissure and no residual water will be spilled. Therefore, it is the only system that ensures correct environmental protection of the port or marina.

As for the installation costs of this technology and maintenance costs, replacement of equipment, etc., what can you tell us? The reduction of excavation in such difficult conditions as a port, means a reduction of important costs, and the reason why sewage collection by vacuum is the most economical solution. The maintenance costs of a system with a single vacuum station, compared to an alternative that would require multiple pumping, are also clearly lower. The valve is specifically designed to work with wastewater. They are manufactured in glass filled polypropylene, with a stainless steel shaft. The result is that the first valves installed in Spain, specifically in Empuriabrava, 15 years ago, continue to operate with a minimum consumption of spare parts

Currently FLOVAC is the benchmark in the installation of vacuum sewerage systems, both in residential areas and in ports and marinas, what are your main references and projects at this time in Spain? The first installations in ports that we carried out in Spain, more than 10 years ago, were sewerage projects for the existing buildings in the marinas or ports. Later, we added sewage suction points for small boats that had to move to that point. In the most recent marinas, a single vacuum station serves buildings, suction points for yachts located at the gas station, megayachts on their own mooring and even a network of bilge water suction points that are treated before they are sent to the public sewage system.

The result is that among our projects in Spain there are all kinds of facilities: large commercial ports, such as the Port of Barcelona or small ones such as Arenys de Mar, marinas for yachts or mega yachts such as the Royal Marina Juan Carlos I (Valencia), Port Vell and Marina Vela (Barcelona) or industrial facilities such as Marina Barcelona 92 ​​for megayacht repair.

To empty wastewater from small boats, suction points are available, usually next to the gas station. Likewise, Flovac valves open and allow the emptying of yacht deposits. The megayachts, on the other hand, have their own sewage pumps, which drive the water to small wells located on the same dock where Flovac valves evacuate the water to the vacuum station. Finally, to evacuate the bilge water from the gas stations, a second vacuum network is required, so that these waters end up in a different reservoir that allows their treatment before being sent to the public sewage system. But the equipment at the vacuum station is the same for both networks.

Finally, Francisco, are marina and port projects being installed in other countries?

Flovac is leading the world in providing sewerage solutions at Marina’s and many countries are now following Spain’s lead which we feel is a world leader in using best environmental practices. Greece has always been another leading country for marinas and we have done a number of projects as far away as Australia and more recently in the Caribbean, Italy is also a very good market for us.

For more information please visit www.flovac.es or www.flovac.com

Marina Vela Vacuum Sewer System, Barcelona.

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Marina Vela, the newest upscale Marina in the heart of Barcelona has opened for business. The new Marina which utilizes the latest in Flovac vacuum sewer technology has 136 marina berths which can cater for boats up to 50 meters in length.

Barcelona’s new Hotel W will be attached to the marina along with a number of restaurants, bars and shops. The marina is very central to city centre and the beach.

Flovac has installed a number of systems in marina’s In Barcelona including Port Vela, as well as in a number of other countries worldwide include Flisvos Marina in Greece, Marina di Pisa in Italy  and Marina Hindmarsh in Australia. The latest marina project outside Barcelona will be in Canouan in the Caribbean and will be profiled in an upcoming newsletter.

Marina Vela  has the latest in monitoring systems which allows the operator to be aware of any potential overflows, breakdowns or misuse by the boats crew. Not only is sewage taken care of but also any bilge water is taken off the boat and can be separated and reused. Details in Spanish can be found on our Flovac Spain website 

Marina Port Vell Barcelona installs Flovac System

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On April 27 2015, Flovac commissioned the vacuum system at the Marina Port Vell in Barcelona. Known as one of the finest new marinas for Super yachts in Europe, the owners saw the use of the Flovac system as essential.

The system designed and installed by FLOVAC includes the discharges from buildings in the Marina such as the restaurants, offices, locker rooms, gym, etc … and residences on the boats moored in the Marina.

Wastewater and Bilge Water

The vacuum system has two vacuum networks, one for wastewater generated in the Marina (waste water) and a parallel network where bilge water, which requires pre-treatment to collect the sewage discharged in port .The network of pipes, placed around

the perimeter of the marina, carrying the waste water has vacuum generated by a single vacuum station located in the Marina. It is the single point of electricity needed for the whole system. FLOVAC vacuum valves, which are located in different collection pits are pneumatically operated with this setup, FLOVAC has already installed four vacuum sewerage works in the area of the Port of Barcelona.

No Leaks from the Sewer System can occur

The vacuum system ensures the impossibility of discharges into the sea , is the most economical solution in terms of execution of work, since by its very nature design , the network of pipes need not be buried deep underground and no intermediate pumping.

Moreover, in this case, the system is equipped with a remote control system that allows the owner to know exactly everything that happens anywhere in the sewer.

User Pay for Sewage Discharge

Flovac also designed software to control the discharge of sewage from yachts to the Marina and can accurately invoice by litres of discharge to the sewer. As a result, Marina Port Vell prevents sewage dumped at sea and in return gives them a MARPOL certificate.

MARPOL 73/78 is an international convention for the prevention of pollution at sea. The convention includes regulations aimed at preventing and minimising pollution at sea from ships, and this includes both, accidental pollution and pollution from routine operations.