Safe Bulkers signs service agreement with Alfa Laval

Safe Bulkers ordered PureSOx retrofits for 12 post-panamax vessels, 6 kamsarmax vessels and 2 capesize vessels, with deliveries running until March 2020. Almost 15 of those systems, which comprise open-loop scrubbers configured for multiple inlet sources, have now been installed at Cosco retrofit yards with engineering design of Alpha Marine Consulting P.C. Throughout the process, the company has partnered closely with the yards, providing support through locally based project managers with backing from PureSOx product centre in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Taking the cooperation further

With the majority of the PureSOx retrofits completed, the company is now looking ahead to secure trouble-free operation. Recently, the company signed an Alfa Laval service agreement that will strengthen the partnership between the two companies. The agreement includes connectivity and lifecycle-oriented services.

Loukas Barmparis, President of Safe Bulkers, commented: “We feel very satisfied with the scrubber project execution and we want to be equally successful in the operation of our PureSOx systems. The Alfa Laval Service Agreement will help us safeguard long-term performance, for example by using data analysis to keep systems performing at their peak.”

Services to safeguard performance over time

The company’s ambitions are reflected in the scope of the service agreement. In addition to genuine Alfa Laval spare parts, service kits and sensor calibration by exchange, the agreement includes services that will make corrective maintenance more plannable and maintenance costs more predictable.

“Hands-on training will lay a foundation for safe, compliant and cost-effective PureSOx operation,” said Barmparis. Safe Bulkers crew members and superintendents will be trained at the recently opened Alfa Laval PureSOx Training Centre in Shanghai, China, where a full-size system is installed. “On top of that foundation, we will use data-driven PureSOx Connect services for compliance and performance monitoring,” Barmparis continued.

The services will let the company prove compliance easily, generating automatic reports for handover to local authorities. In addition, the scrubber data will be analysed with advanced algorithms, enabling health monitoring, root-cause identification and remote service support when needed.

“Scrubber connectivity will give us deeper insights and keep our systems optimised,” said Barmparis. “Alfa Laval will perform yearly condition audits of our PureSOx installations, but PureSOx Connect will help us take preventive actions and minimise the corrective needs they find.”

Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/dry-bulk/13012020/safe-bulkers-signs-service-agreement-with-alfa-laval/