They are a class-certified lay-up service provider offering professional management for all types of vessels including offshore installation like oil rigs, drilling rigs and survey vessels, setting high standards in the industry.
With a proven track record of handling over 200 vessels, they deliver cold lay-up solutions through trained professionals and established processes. They are licensed by "The Director of Ports and Harbors; Sabah" for operations in Labuan, East Malaysia.
Implementing maintenance protocols
Lay-up is a critical phase for ships facing market fluctuations or temporary inactivity. To optimise this process, they select suitable lay-up sites, implement maintenance protocols, and utilise monitoring routine including weather, vessel safety and GPS.
Lay-up is influenced by economic changes, legal regulations, or global events and requires careful consideration of various factors to minimise the vessel's depreciation. Ballasting, the process of taking on or discharging ballast water to maintain the ship's stability and balance, is a standard operational requirement for the industry, shipowners, and operators.
Comprehensive maintenance routines
Proper lay-up is essential for preserving a vessel's condition and ensuring its readiness for reactivation. By implementing comprehensive maintenance routines and timely reactivation plans, shipowners can minimise depreciation, reduce reactivation costs, and mitigate safety risks. Neglecting lay-up maintenance can lead to costly repairs and operational challenges.
Lay-up vessels are ships that are temporarily taken out of service and moored for extended periods due to economic downturns, seasonal cargo shortages, or oversupply in the maritime industry. The main advantage of lay-up is the reduction of operational expenses while potentially preserving the overall value of the vessel. However, managing the lay-up process—whether hot, warm, or cold—is complex due to the ship's size, intricacy, and harsh marine environment.
Harsh marine environment
Effective lay-up requires a well-structured maintenance plan to prevent corrosion
Effective lay-up requires a well-structured maintenance plan to prevent corrosion, fouling, and degradation of the ship's infrastructure, machinery, and equipment. This includes regular preventive maintenance, system inspections, and tailored preservation strategies.
The goal is to ensure the vessel can quickly return to operational mode and achieve class and statutory certification at a reasonable cost upon reactivation. Selecting an appropriate location for the lay-up of vessels is a decision of considerable significance, as it directly impacts the safety and integrity of the ships during their period of dormancy.
Prevent unauthorised access
The following criteria are essential in choosing a lay-up location that ensures the vessel's preservation and swift reactivation:
Security: The chosen site must be safe from pirates, politically stable, and have support from local security in case of emergencies to prevent unauthorised access, vandalism, or theft. A secure location deters potential risks and protects the vessel throughout the lay-up period.
Anchoring Ground Quality: A ship's anchoring system relies heavily on the quality of the seabed. Optimal holding conditions, typically found at depths between 22 and 30 meters, are crucial for preventing the vessel from drifting or capsizing, thereby safeguarding both the ship and its anchoring equipment.
Preventing costly penalties
All environmental, safety, and maritime protocols must be observed when establishing a site
Regulatory Adherence: Strict adherence to both local and international regulations is paramount for successful lay-up anchorage. All environmental, safety, and maritime protocols must be observed when establishing a site. Official gazetting and certification of the location as a lay-up anchorage are essential. By complying with these requirements, they mitigate legal risks, honour the ship’s flag state obligations, and prevent costly penalties.
Environmental Conditions: A lay-up site in Brunei Bay offers several advantages, including its sheltered location outside the typhoon belt and gentle currents under 1 knot, which enhance vessel safety and reduce potential damage and wear and tear. Additionally, its strategic position provides potential logistical benefits.
Accessibility: Labuan is an ideal location due to its proximity for efficient crew changes, supply replenishment, and swift emergency response. The island's international airport facilitates convenient access for vessel owners and representatives. Additionally, the availability of technical support for vessel maintenance and marine asset management is crucial.
Safe practices and procedures
These systems need to work properly to give early warnings in case of water entry or fire
Ensuring the safety of vessels during lay-up requires a comprehensive set of measures and protocols designed to protect the ship from potential hazards. The following are essential safety practices that should be implemented:
Bilge and Fire Alarms: It's crucial to maintain bilge and fire alarm systems. These systems need to work properly to give early warnings in case of water entry or fire. Sensors placed in the aft and forward sections of the engine room and near the forecastle detect water ingress. If water levels rise, a bilge floater triggers an alarm in the watchmen's hut. Fire and smoke detectors are strategically located in the accommodation, engine room, and forward compartment to detect fire hazards. An efficient emergency response plan and a well-trained team are in place to respond promptly. Keeping these systems in optimal condition is important to ensure safety, as water ingress and fire are the most dangerous threats to an idle vessel.
Predicting adverse conditions
Security Patrols: It is essential to continuously monitor the lay-up vessel to prevent unauthorised access, theft, or safety hazards. Regular patrolling is crucial for identifying potential problems. On-board watchmen conduct rounds checks and report to the Base Radio Room. Data from these patrols is collected and logged for record keeping and used for reporting.
Monitoring weather patterns is essential for predicting adverse conditions and planning
Weather Monitoring: Monitoring weather patterns is essential for predicting adverse conditions and planning. A real-time weather monitoring system enables proactive measures by allowing for the implementation of preventive actions to minimise the impact of extreme weather.
Moisture-related failures
Security Seals: Weekly inspections of the seals are crucial to ensure all areas are well-maintained. Additionally, safety seals offer an extra layer of security by providing peace of mind that valuable and important items are securely stored in a sealed compartment of the owner's choice.
Dehumidification: Utilising correct and effective dehumidification techniques in the facility can prevent moisture-related failures and corrosion and maintain the vessel's condition during lay-up.
Pest Control: Pest control is necessary to prevent infestation of key components like wiring and insulation.
Strong wind forecasts
All vessels have GPS monitoring systems to ensure movement remains within safe margins
Vessel Movement: All vessels have GPS monitoring systems to ensure movement remains within safe margins. Any abnormal movement is reported immediately to the Base Radio Room and the emergency response team for further action.
Wind Conditions: An anemometer monitors wind speed, and safety advisories are issued to watchmen and crew during strong wind forecasts. The Radio Room operator collects data from watchmen’s reports, updates the emergency response team on adverse weather, and shares this information with other vessels in the lay-up area for safety precautions.
Sealing and Humidity Control
To minimise corrosion and equipment degradation during vessel lay-up, effective preservation methods are crucial. Key strategies include creating a controlled environment through sealing to reduce humidity and maintaining optimal moisture levels within the vessel.
Compartmental sealing involves creating a controlled dry air environment within the vessel’s spaces
Compartmental sealing involves creating a controlled dry air environment within the vessel’s spaces, particularly those housing critical machinery and electronic equipment. This is achieved by sealing all openings, including doors, hatches, and ventilation ducts, with airtight gaskets or temporary cladding. Once sealed, a dehumidification system is introduced to control the internal atmosphere. By circulating dry air and removing moisture, the dehumidification system maintains a low relative humidity, significantly slowing down most corrosion or degradation processes.
Humidity level maintenance
Maintaining the correct humidity level is essential to protect metal surfaces, electrical circuits, and other sensitive components from the detrimental effects of moisture.
Hygroscopic materials, such as silica gel, can be used within sealed compartments such as electrical switch board to absorb moisture from the air. Regularly monitoring humidity levels with hygrometers or humidity sensors ensures that the environment remains within the desired parameters. Additionally, corrosion inhibitors, used in FO tanks or ballast tanks with the owner's agreement, can provide an extra layer of protection by releasing chemicals that prevent corrosion on metal surfaces.
Remove marine growth
Conduct periodic underwater inspections by divers to check for hull condition and integrity
Maintaining the integrity of a vessel during lay-up is essential to ensure its longevity and readiness for reactivation. Here are some strategies that focus on hull protection, equipment maintenance, and anchor chain management:
Regular Inspections: Conduct periodic underwater inspections by divers to check for hull condition and integrity, including potential corrosion or biofouling, and ensure that sea overboard valves are functioning correctly and their openings are clear.
Anodes: Install additional sacrificial anodes to protect the hull from electrolytic corrosion.
Cleaning: Perform underwater hull cleaning before reactivation to remove marine growth, which can contribute to increased fuel consumption after reactivation.
Deterioration of electrical components
Machinery Preservation: Rotate machinery periodically to prevent seizure and lubricate moving parts to protect against rust.
Electrical Systems: Conduct insulation resistance tests on electrical equipment during lay-up to prevent the deterioration of electrical components.
Critical Spares: Store critical spare parts in a controlled environment to prevent damage from humidity or temperature fluctuations.
Anchor Chain Management
Inspection: Inspect anchor chains for signs of wear and condition
Maintenances: Heave up the anchor every 3 months to ensure the anchoring system is working properly and to prevent the anchor chain from being buried under the seabed, thereby avoiding localised wear and stress. The swivel installation on anchor chains can prevent kinking between the hawse pipe and waterline, minimising anchor chain wear and tear.
Monitoring: Monitor the tension and position of the anchor chain to ensure the vessel remains securely moored.
Reporting and team management
Effective reporting and team management are critical to maintaining a vessel during lay-ups
Effective reporting and team management are critical to maintaining a vessel during lay-ups. These procedures ensure that the vessel's condition is meticulously monitored and that maintenance activities are executed efficiently and safely.
Condition Reports: Regular lay-up condition reports should document the vessel's systems and structure status. These reports provide a historical record and help identify trends or issues requiring attention.
Maintenance Logs: Detailed maintenance logs are essential for tracking the work carried out on the vessel. They serve as a reference for future maintenance activities and verify compliance with regulatory requirements.
Incident Reports: Prompt reporting is essential to document any incidents, detail the response, facilitate a review of procedures, and prevent future occurrences. Any incident reports will be sent to owners within 24 hours.
Experienced maintenance teams
Specialised Skills: Their team is led by an experienced maintenance engineer, maintaining a ratio of 1 maintenance engineer to 4 fully maintained vessels. Their maintenance teams consist of individuals with seagoing backgrounds and specialised skills relevant to the vessel's systems and equipment. Their expertise ensures that maintenance tasks are performed correctly and efficiently.
Team Coordination: Effective coordination among team members is vital. Clear communication channels and defined roles help streamline maintenance activities and prevent overlaps or gaps in responsibilities.
Continuous Training: Ongoing training for maintenance teams is important to keep their skills up to date, especially with the introduction of new technologies or changes in industry standards.
Ongoing safety training
Safety Protocols: Regular safety seminars with the latest safety protocols and required training are carried out for their onboard team members.
Drills and Exercises: Conducting drills and exercises, simulates real-life scenarios, helping teams practice their response to emergencies and refine their skills.
Safety Culture: Fostering a culture of safety within the team encourages proactive and thorough risk assessment and mitigation, leading to a safer working environment.
Managing lay-up vessels is a nuanced and critical aspect of maritime operations, particularly when economic or operational circumstances necessitate a temporary cessation of a vessel’s active duties. Adhering to best practices in lay-up vessel management is crucial. These practices ensure the preservation of the vessel’s structural integrity, the reliability of its machinery, and the safety of its systems.
Effective lay-up management
Effective lay-up management is pivotal. It is a strategic approach that protects the vessel’s value and ensures that it remains a ready and capable asset within the fleet.
As the maritime industry adapts to the ever-changing tides of global commerce, effective vessel lay-up management remains a testament to the foresight and resilience of those who maintain their vessels, even when they are not in active service.
