SPARE PARTS DELIVERED ON THE OPEN SEA
When an unexpected engine failure brought one of our customer’s vessels to a standstill, swift and precise action was essential to minimize downtime. Our global team coordinated seamlessly across borders and time zones to deliver the necessary spare parts in record time, even completing the handover while the vessel was at sea.
Challenge
One of our German customers had suffered an engine failure on one of their ships. The ship was in Singapore, and the necessary spare part was only available in Denmark. A hand carry was therefore prepared. Next challenge: The manufacturer was unable to provide the order at the required time. The technical management of our customer, a shipping company in Emden, Germany, then decided to let the ship leave Singapore anyway, with Sagunto, Spain as its destination, and to have the ship probably stopped in South Africa if necessary.
Solution
In the meantime, the order had arrived at our warehouse in Copenhagen and the ship was on its way to Cape Town. Our customer then decided to stop the ship in Cape Town. This meant that the ship would stop its journey on the open sea and we were asked to deliver the spare parts by barge to the ship at an agreed time and place. The subsequent communication and coordination took place between the ship's captain, our agent in Cape Town and us. The meeting point agreed upon was the OPL Replenishment Area - 7nm west of Greenpoint.
Outcome
Our task was now to fly the spare parts from Denmark to Cape Town and, including customs clearance in South Africa, deliver them to the barge station in time so that the ship could continue its journey immediately after the stop and delivery of the spare parts without any waiting time. The delivery then took place on the open sea, with the barge sailing directly alongside the ship, a car carrier and the ship hoisting the spare parts on board with the help of its crane. The handover went absolutely smoothly, allowing the vessel to continue its journey to Spain immediately after the stop, without wasting valuable/precious time.
