Shipping company Alfons Hakans has contracted with Steerprop to modernise the control system on ‘Artemis’, one of the longest-serving ASD tugs in the company’s fleet.
It was no longer possible to get spare parts for the original control system; and although it was still reliable, for safety reasons the company decided to look for reasonable solutions for a full-scale upgrade.
Technical manager Tuomas Raumanen said: “We noticed pretty quickly that it made sense to renew all parts related to the control of the propulsion units. Basically, everything between the master’s hands and propulsion units had to be replaced, including things like control levers, cables, computer units, and feedback sensors.”
Steerprop paid visits to get to know Artemis and its operations. During these visits, a timetable was set to ensure the downtime of the tug was kept to a minimum. Hakans’ own workers and subcontractors started preliminary works, such as installing new cables and manufacturing foundations for electric cabinets, whilst the tug was still operating normally. Meanwhile, Steerprop was building the entire control system at its workshop.
Connecting the new cables to different units was the most time-consuming part, and it was completed on schedule. During sea trials, adjustments to the final parameters were carried out – ease of this process had been considered during software planning. From the beginning of the installation to final approval, installing the new control system took nine days in total.
Raumanen said: “After sea trials and final adjustments, our masters and chief engineers were satisfied and also surprised how well the whole process went. Of course it takes a while before masters and others get used to the new type of control levers, but that’s common when changes are made to older vessels.”
The biggest advantages in comparison to the old system are, in Raumanen’s view, that all adjustments are very easy to make, and the new system is significantly more reliable. The information the system provides about the status of the propulsion units is also much easier to understand. In total, the upgrade is estimated to add 10 to 15 years to the lifecycle of the vessel.
Technical Sales Manager Esa Peltomaa added: “By modernising the system, Steerprop also provided a capability for remote service diagnostics, which gives Steerprop’s service department the ability to diagnose faults and status of the system remotely,” Peltomaa explains. “This makes better service assistance possible by diagnosing possible faults even before the first service engineer’s visit on board.”
