our
credentials
Jorgen Skaarup Jorgensen, Senior Group Newbuilding Manager of Svitzer visits Ibercisa Deck Machinery, a leading company in Vigo and which is working together with the multinational on the design of new winches. In an interview with Industrias Pesqueras Jorgen Skaarup Jorgensen talks about the company's greatest projects, how it operates and the quality required to become one of their suppliers.
Which is the reason of your visit to Spain and to Ibercisa?
The reason we come to Spain to visit Ibercisa is due to our ongoing and future new building projects for harbour and terminal tugboats primarily for ship-assist & escort towing. Ibercisa when awarded a contract by a shipyard is designing custom made winches, manufacturing and supplying winches to Svitzer A/S. Svitzer is among others developing high-performance winches including innovative escort winches with advanced technical features, which over the years has resulted in a very good cooperation with Ibercisa. The reason I am here this time is to visit some important sub-suppliers, north of Vigo. Further, to inspect winch manufacturing in Vigo including machining of specific winch components, examination of welded steel parts such as welding quality and steel surface preparation prior coating and later assembly. These winches are for our most recent new building project in Turkey at Sanmar Shipyard where we are building four Harbour/Terminal tugs for our Group A.P. Moller - Maersk’ container terminal, TM2, in Morocco, Port of Tangier. Therefore, the project is named, TM2 project. TM2 consist of 4 x 90 tons Bollard Pull, RAstar 2900SX Class designed by Robert Allan, Vancouver. The tugs are employed on long term charters. Not least, we are with Ibercisa further developing our SVITZER standard winch technical specification like what we are doing for other important main equipment for our tugs. To avoid future misunderstanding regarding the winch Scope of Supply, the agreed standard winch specification must be signed by the individual winch supplier.
How do you choose your suppliers?
We are a Danish international company building tugboats in several places around the world. Presently, we are building tugs in China outside Hong Kong at Cheoy Lee Shipyards, specifically at Hin Lee Shipyard in Doumen, Zhuhai. We are building in Brazil at Inace Shipyard in Fortaleza. And as said at Sanmar outside Istanbul in Turkey. Ibercisa are supplying winches to several of our newbuilding projects but not to all our new building projects of course. The criterion for being a selected supplier involves quite some work. A supplier must be pre-qualified and is selected based on certain well establish international ISO standards etc. Sound financial standing (stability) with relevant references and good reputation is a must. Further, the vendor company size (capacity) and not least the organization primarily the technical team including designers, engineers (Engineering & Production etc.) must be skilled and well experienced with good track records i.e. product quality meaning with relevant experiences in design and manufacturing such as of full render & recovery escort winches. Lead Times and Delivery on Time are important supplier performance records to verify during the pre-qualification process. The supplier’s international after sales organization must be well established in all Svitzer Regions world-wide. It is very important that not only sales agent but well trained capable service engineers can be available on site as and when required including spare parts in most of the ports where Svitzer are operating. When a supplier has been identified, the company will be audited (Ref: Svitzer Audit Questionnaire & Supplier Evaluation Form) to verify that all requirements are met in accordance to the established Maersk Group Procurement and hereunder Svitzer Group Procurement giving directions, procedures and guidelines (Svitzer Responsible Procurement Programme). For a supplier to be considered by a shipyard the vendor has also to be placed on Svitzer’s Makers List of recommended suppliers for any given new building project. Otherwise, it will be rather difficult for the supplier to promote their product towards the shipyard not forgetting the shipowner. It is namely the shipyard with the shipowner’s consent who contracts the specified equipment according to the signed newbuilding specification and if awarded, the shipyard issues a purchase order (P.O.) to the supplier.
Svitzer preference is European manufacturing which also makes it easy and more economical for us to physical inspect and attend the necessary Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) according to ISO 7365:2012, after the assembly and prior to shipment (delivery ex Works). The latter require the supplier to provide quite a comprehensive FAT protocol to be appraised by the classification society. Svitzer has normally a handful of selected suppliers for any specific equipment for all main equipment suppliers. The suppliers on the Makers List are competitors. Consequently, we compare both technically and commercially offers we receive through the yard. Our technical main equipment specifications are continuously consulted and updated to our usual high standard with focus firstly on safety next on optimizing maintenance and performances. We try to develop more simple and reliable equipment. this way, it is easy to compare green apples with green apples when evaluating the various offers before selecting the preferred supplier in agreement with the shipyard.
What do you consider to be the main challenges of being in such a bigger company?
Well for me it’s personal interesting and can at times challenging. I have been living abroad for several years, primarily in South East Asia (Hong Kong, Thailand & Bangladesh) and I have been posted abroad in European countries. I have been in the Caribbean, in the Bahamas and in Africa. For the latter, twice as posted both in East- and West Africa during two different assignments. I enjoy working with people of different international back ground and on all levels and observe foreign cultures and traditions. I feel the firsthand experiences gained from assignments abroad are valuable when dealing with international customers, not only in Europe but worldwide. At Svitzer, we try to select the best international and most reliable supplier meeting with all our requirements. This with due respect to both CAPEX and OPEX and in the long-term perspective of our equipment, - as we say, Total Cost/Value of Ownership (TCO/TVO) – for the entire expected lifetime of the equipment.
What are the key features you look for in your suppliers?
Well as said they must be pre-qualified as explained in the above. We have a Group procurement department in Copenhagen and our Svitzer procurement department have specific guidelines and requirements, which all must be met by any supplier. The supplier must be internationally recognized with valid references. If a supplier is found commendable, we start look at the specific product or equipment and not least the sourcing of all components, location of manufacturing and assembly including quality and testing facilities. Found suitable for a new building project, we, at least for all main equipment, enter negotiation. The supplier as qualified accordance to our Makers List (Svitzer’s “approved supplier list for shipyards), is then invited to offer. For competitive reasons, minimum three to four and in some cases, even five suppliers are given the chance to offer commercially and technically. We compare the shortlisted (mainly due to pricing) all offers according to our standard technical specifications. Compare green apples with green apples means you can really compare the products both in a technically and commercial sense and when found successful, we enter in to the final negotiation with one or two suppliers.
Svitzer assist herewith the shipyard, who purchases the specified equipment. Due to our direct involvement and the Group’s purchasing size (power) we manage to obtain a good selection i.e. Scope of Supply and appears to benefit not only due to the volume. The Group purchases a lot of equipment relating to the numbers of vessels contracted word-wide and as such Svitzer benefits as well including other Owners benefits provided our high-quality criteria are meeting with our requirements.
Which is the main project that Svitzer has now on the table?
Svitzer’s new building projects now are in Turkey at Sanmar Shipyard, in China at Cheoy Lee Shipyards outside Hong Kong and in Brazil at Inace Shipyard in Fortaleza. We have other new building projects in the pipelines and various ongoing tenders for external clients existing as well as new clients.
We have some time back established an office in Rio de Janeiro, and I believe we are positioning us well in South America both in Argentina and Brazil expanding Svitzer’s towage business. After the acquisition of the family-owned German container shipping line, Hamburg Süd, a well-functioning and professional reefer container company certain synergies appear hopefully also for Svitzer going forward. This acquisition ensures that the cabotage sector in Brazil remains competitive and the customers continue to benefit from a comprehensive choice of carriers.
Are you working in any blue growth project?
As a member of A.P. Moller – Maersk, Transport & Logistics, we have, as part of a large Group and herewith Maersk Line identified certain areas for further expansion and growth. It is still tough times in certain maritime sectors and we are in the early recovering period but there are positive signs ahead in some segments. The A.P. Moller – Maersk is divided into two Divisions, Transport & Logistics and Energy. Svitzer belongs to the newly integrated T & L company in which Division also APM Terminals belongs. As such Svitzer enjoy the synergic effect from the Division’s container terminal business as for the above-mentioned TM2 project and Svitzer, I anticipate, may also benefits further from the 2M container alliance, which Maersk Line is a member of.
An example of growth is the very environmental friendly new generation of the Triple-E container vessels entering services these days.
What about climate change and the obligations you must meet?
That’s a very good question. This is a principal issue, and we feel we are in the forefront, especially with our new tugs. Everybody wants to talk about the green era, blue eco cars and green vessels, blue oceans and clear skies like so many other buzz words used nowadays for example, disruption and digitalization etc.
All these popular words (subjects) are of course important provide you do something about it!
Svitzer are like-wise concerned and we use a lot of effort to be prepared not only meeting present rules and regulations but also to be well prepared in the future. Svitzer are taking certain measures in to account when dealing with the issue of the much-debated climate changes. We require our equipment to be prepared for present and future international regulations coming in to force for example by preparing our engine room spaces for fitting engine exhaust gas treatment (SCR) to meet with IMO Tier III requirement herewith lowering engine emissions (NOx). Engines are optimized saving fuel consumption and herewith limiting emissions. We utilize ultralow Sulphur in the fuel, not using MDO but low sulfur MGO (marine gas oil) limiting SOx emissions.
We have built and delivered hybrid tugs with new battery technology. We are studying modern tugboat designs; next generation of hybrid-, dual fuel- and even pure gas driven tugs. Due to confidentiality, I cannot speak about potential exciting projects along those line. Due to new technical interesting developments, we may consider establishing partnerships or JV primarily with larger partners within the maritime sector.
These environmental requirements affected also your suppliers
Yes, indeed. This affect everyone and are of concern due to the above-mentioned climate changes.
A nominated supplier has of course to qualify and to meet with the present and fort coming environmental regulations. In particular diesel engines should be optimized and meeting with future international and national rules & regulations. In the case of the winch maker, Ibercisa, they must provide evidence of proper material selection. For instance, for the brake lining installed on our winches. We use special brake linings, they must be asbestos free. The supplier must ensure and provide a statement of asbestos-free materials throughout or provide the Owners with a certificate. This require additional necessary control about how the winch assembly is executed, what materials are use on the winches. This is not only under Ibercisa’s own control but also applicable for their selected sub-suppliers. And we do random checks unannounced during visits.
So, when Svitzer visits Ibercisa or any supplier during execution of a new building contract, we come to inspect the manufacturing process. We wish to ascertain that the supplier is meeting with all agreed requirements. Svitzer believes the environment is important, how things are done, handled and how the equipment is SAFELY operated by our crew. We do not accept pollution which can be avoided. Paint is a specific area of concern, from steel surface preparation to coating application from first primer to final finish layer and later use of vessel and equipment at sea.
One of our Maersk values out of total five core values states, “with constant care”. In other words; take care of today, actively prepare for tomorrow.
Bigger vessels, bigger tugs, where do you think is the limit?
Well, someone said, “The sky is the limit”. At Svitzer, we are following development, the world is evolving. I believe, we are leading somehow both within environmental considerations and with new technical developments of equipment and new construction of tugs (tugboat design). Especially for winch equipment which by many are considered the most important equipment for a tug, - say for an escort ASD tugs with installed high-performance, full render and recovery escort winch because when offering towage services, our customers must rely on our well-trained crew, the vessel and not least the winches. The engine design and economic operation including optimized maintenance we continuously evaluate to improving overall engines performances, minimizing fuel consumption and overhaul intervals (TBO) herewith emissions in co-operation with some of the major engine builders. New engines are studied and new thruster developments including propeller & nozzle designs and the manufacturing are followed.
Higher required propeller thrust (BP; Bollard Pull) require deep technical insight in both engine and ASD thruster design and development.
There is obviously a limit for engine size and thruster output due to the limited under deck spaces available in engine room and thruster room in our rather compact tugs.
However, when continuous following developments closely, you may eventually find a way to save space and energy whether you have electrical driven or you chose hydraulic driven equipment. Therefore, Svitzer are considering more electronic controls, still more simplified and reliable not least safe equipment to operate by crew. We keep on searching for new innovative but still economical solutions for instance like permanent magnet motors. However, to make this (PM) a reality, the pricing is still to improve as for most new things entering a specific market.
Are you working on self-control vessels?
We have thoughts and it is interesting to explore the possibility with less crew. Here, the safety aspect, perhaps with less chance of a human error is worth considering. Fore sure there are benefits. However, certain challenges to overcome as you can imagine the various authorities involved in such a project.
We are of course closely monitoring developments and perhaps one day we may be able to elaborate a little further…and when we are able to speak about this subject.
Svitzer strategy, “Staying Ahead” is a reality. A global towage provider.
For your further information please visit the following websites:
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