Retrofitting a 16-vessel fleet

 A few years ago, Songa Ship Management Ltd. in Glasgow managed 16 vessels delivered from their respective yards with piston compressors to provide air for service air applications on board.

Fast forward to 2017 and Songa Ship Management Ltd. has retrofitted all 16 vessels with rotary screw compressors from TMC. Why? Because the vessels required dedicated service air pressure and better air quality whilst also reducing energy use and operational cost.

“Our decision to make this investment made sense from both a financial and operational perspective. TMC’s deliveries were on time and budget, and the compressors operate as they should,” says Kenneth Macleod, director of Songa Ship Management Ltd.

The 16 vessels retrofitted with new and energy-efficient rotary screw compressors include numerous product tankers as well as a couple of semi-submersible heavy lift vessels. Songa Ship Management Ltd. manages the vessels on behalf of Songa Tankers and Ocean Heavy Transport.

All compressors were shipped to the vessel in question, and the vessel crew installed it themselves. Deliveries to four vessels were made in 2014, two in 2016, and the remaining ten in 2017.

“Plug and play is what TMC is about. We do not need to send a service technician to install our compressors, which are specifically designed for marine applications. The crew on board the vessel can easily install the compressor. This significantly reduces the cost of retrofit operation, thereby making it much easier to defend an investment to upgrade the vessel’s service air system,” says Gunnar Berg Leknes, Sales manager of global aftersales at TMC.