Compliance with current environmental regulations is crucial to operators in maritime transport today. At Kyklades Maritime Corporation, Greece, a service agreement with Green Instruments means no more worries about malfunctioning monitoring systems that could lead to fines or, at worst, detention.

Kyklades Maritime Corporation manages a fleet of ships for ship owners, thereby assuming the responsibility for every aspect of health, safety, protection of life and environment on board. This includes ensuring that all technical units on board function flawlessly – from the largest mechanical parts to the smallest sensors in the Green Instruments monitoring systems for the ships’ scrubbers.

Now, a new service agreement with Green Instruments regarding the monitoring systems for eight vessels in Kyklades Maritime Corporation’s fleet ensures that the systems always function optimally and that the crew on board the ships are up-to-date with how to manage and maintain the systems in their everyday work.

Technical Superintendent at Kyklades Maritime Corporation Alexandros Sklavinitis says:

“The systems were already installed on the ships when we took over management, as they were included as part of the overall scrubber solution that was installed on board. Such systems are subject to mandatory service checks, and when we became aware that we could actually get a service agreement regarding preventive maintenance with the manufacturers, Green Instruments, who are obviously experts within the systems, we decided to go for it.”

With the service agreement, Green Instruments handles and plans an annual, customized service check on board, including a thorough check and calibration of the system as well replacement of the necessary spare parts. The service engineer knows up front which systems and which unit serial numbers are on board the specific ship and plans his visit accordingly. The service checks take place in or near one of Green Instruments’ service hubs at select ports around the world.

“Our service engineers contact Kyklades Maritime Corporation before the service visit to set up a convenient time and to determine whether any extra maintenance or spare parts are needed. On the one hand, this lets our service engineer know up-front what to expect when he arrives on the ship, and on the other it lets him plan the service check optimally to ensure that it can be carried out during the available time slot that the ship is in port in the service hub,” says Jacob Rasmussen, Service Development Manager at Green Instruments.

Pro-tips for the crew

In addition to ensuring that the systems are shipshape, a significant added benefit of having Green Instruments carry out the service agreement is that the service checks allow the crew of the ship to get peer-to-peer training: They get to watch an expert carry out the maintenance tasks on the advanced technical systems.

“Our crew was very positive after the first service visit on board. It is very valuable to see a representative from the manufacturers perform the service and maintenance, as they know these systems in and out. In addition, the service visit allowed the crew to ask any questions they might have about managing and maintaining the system. This gave them an even better understanding of the system, as well as a lot of useful tips for everyday operation such as, say, calibration,” Alexandros Sklavinits says.

A valuable agreement

Another major advantage of the service agreement is that now, Kyklades Maritime Corporation knows up front what the maintenance cost for the monitoring systems will be for each ship over the course of the next 2-3 years (depending on the duration of the service agreement), including replacing sensors and other parts when necessary. This enables them to easily calculate the expenses that their clients need to pay Kyklades Maritime Corporation for these services.

But the most important advantage of the service agreement is the continuous reassurance that the ships live up to all current regulations and limits. Having to use a more expensive fuel because a ship is not compliant (or, even worse, getting detained) would be catastrophic – not only in financial terms but also in terms of company reputation. With the new service agreement, this is no longer a worry for Alexandros Sklavinitis and his colleagues.

“Having systems for environmental analysis that are up-to-date and functioning flawlessly enables us to be 100% compliant with current legislation, no matter where we sail. The service agreement gives us peace of mind in this regard, because now we know that the systems are always functioning optimally. In addition, we do not need to worry about when to plan the next service visit or which specific spare parts to order to ensure that the vessels stay compliant in the future – all that is handled by Green Instruments as well. All in all, it is a very satisfactory collaboration,” Alexandros Sklavinitis finishes.