Wärtsilä to upgrade largest residential ship in the world

'The World', the largest private residential ship on the seas, will be retrofitted with a Wärtsilä advanced wastewater treatment system and a Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum system for navigation and external communication purposes. The Wärtsilä advanced wastewater solution will replace an existing system and keep the vessel in full compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) requirements concerning the prevention of pollution from ships.

The ship is owned by its residents and is managed by ROW Management Ltd based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The contract with Wärtsilä was signed in November. The equipment is scheduled for delivery in April 2016.

Wärtsilä Hamworthy membrane bioreactor solutions are designed to facilitate the management and treatment of both ‘grey’ and ‘black’ wastewater, and to monitor discharges to the sea. The Wärtsilä system treats black and grey water so that the effluent can meet the most stringent marine discharge standards across the globe, including the latest nutrients removal requirements in the Baltic Sea.

'Being a retrofit project, we had to design the system to fit the existing space. This created something of a design challenge, but our experience and know-how allowed us to meet the customer’s needs and provide an optimal solution,' says Juha Kytölä, Vice President, Environmental Solutions, Wärtsilä.

'The World' is a 196.35 metre (644 feet) long vessel that features a concept combining a private yacht and a luxury vacation home. The ship comprises 165 individual ‘homes’ that are owned by the residents, who together own the ship.