Compliance with current environmental and safety regulations is crucial to operators in maritime transport today. Costamare Inc. is one of the world’s leading owners and providers of containerships and dry bulk vessels for charter, and with a fleet of 68 containerships and 45 dry bulk vessels, maintaining operational reliability from the largest to the smallest component of every ship can be a challenge.

Now, a service agreement with Green Instruments on maintaining the advanced water monitoring systems and gas analyzers for the scrubbers of 15 vessels managed by Costamare Shipping Company S.A. means fewer worries for the company’s technical department.

“A number of our vessels have Green Instruments’ equipment on board, and after the warranty period from the shipbuilders ran out, we needed to decide how to maintain these systems. It is a new technology for us, as it has only recently been introduced onto vessels following new legislation on emissions monitoring and reporting, and so the maintenance of the systems was not familiar to our technical staff. When Green Instruments, as the manufacturers of the systems, offered us a service agreement, it was an attractive solution on several counts,” members of the technical department at Costamare Shipping explain.

Efficient and cost-effective maintenance plan

Water monitoring systems for scrubber water and gas analyzers for the exhaust gases emitted after the scrubbers are increasingly key to shipping lines’ compliance with environmental regulations, and malfunctioning can lead to severe consequences from fines to, at worst, detention of ships. Therefore, complying with annual service checks and reliable maintenance have high priority for Costamare.

“With this service agreement, the burden of compliance is now on Green Instruments. They make sure to visit each vessel once a year and execute the maintenance plan in the best way – ensuring that the sensors are working properly, calibrating the systems, and installing any spare parts that may be needed. In this way, we have safe and reliable monitoring equipment that lives up to all current legislation, and we can at any time prove the good operation of our systems,” technical staff at Costamare Shipping say.

Ahead of the competition

At Costamare Shipping, the members of the technical department are very impressed with the collaboration with Green Instruments so far.

“The collaboration is a very positive experience. We feel that Green Instruments have gained a good understanding of our needs and daily operations after the first service visits on board the vessels covered by the agreement. In addition, having the manufacturer of the equipment carry out the service and maintenance gives us a very high level of security as they know each part inside out,” technical support members explain, and superintendents concur:

“The agreement also means that our service budgets are easier to predict, and the service visits themselves are efficient and cost-effective as any necessary spare parts can be brought on board when the service engineer arrives to carry out the service checks. Our vessels often have a limited window of time in port when the service visits can be carried out, and it is crucial that they take place as smoothly as possible. Compared to competing companies that offer similar services, our impression is that Green Instruments are more professional and cost-effective in terms of their execution of the service and maintenance agreements.”

Manufacturers with a look to the future

As a significant added advantage, our sources emphasize how Green Instruments has a continual focus on improving their products and rolling out these improvements to existing customers.

“We are very impressed with the fact that Green Instruments does not just sign a service agreement and then forgets about it, so to speak. Rather, they are aware that with changing legislation and new technical advancements, their equipment can and needs to improve as well to keep up with the times. This is a highly positive aspect of Green Instruments’ operational philosophy that we have not experienced from other competitors, and it is a sign of a high level of professionalism that we appreciate very much. If the partnership continues to run this well, we look forward to working with Green Instruments in many years to come,” they conclude.