With the departure of the 14,000 TEU YM Welcome from Yiu Lian Dockyard’s anchorage after her successful sea trials, the Scrubber Project production phase is complete.
The five 10,000 TEU vessels and five 14,000 TEU vessels that have successfully undergone scrubber retrofits constitute the largest capital program our company has undertaken outside of newbuilding projects. Beyond the numbers, the depth of technical provisions, their interdependencies and the sheer scale of the equipment (the Alfa Laval PureSox and Wartsila Q-Sox scrubbers installed are among the largest in the industry) constituted a challenge often underestimated by the industry.
To quote Peter Curtis, Chief Commercial Officer, “the gravity of the efforts that were engaged in getting to this point, since early 2019 through to today” cannot be expressed in few words. The epidemic raised further challenges: the fabrication of equipment was suspended, supply chains were halted, access to shipyard premises was blocked, and the workforce needed to perform the retrofit was impacted by quarantine regulations. In spite of all the challenges, the tenacity of the team involved, their dedication rooted in the newbuilding programs, and the combined efforts of multiple quarters (Procurement and Commercial, to mention a few) have driven the project towards a successful completion.
The delivery of the industry’s third largest scrubber installation in only 34 days and completion of the industry’s second largest scrubber installation in only 36 days including commissioning, compliance testing and flawless sea trials are testament to our in-house comprehensive technical knowledge, to the power of teamwork and our ‘can do’ mentality.
Despite our team’s movement being restricted as per health authorities, and the difficulties involved in running parallel retrofitting jobs (as many as 6 vessels have been simultaneously in shipyard), the team showed outstanding strength, dedication, and the ability to swing the challenging odds to our favour. Our crews spent a great deal of care familiarizing themselves with the equipment and performing the sea trials flawlessly – very well done to all of them.
(Above left) Retrofitted 10,000 TEU vessel with added scrubber with perforated plate at port. (Above right) Former funnel at starboard of 10,000 TEU vessel.
