By
Rebecca Gibson |
Providing for the maintenance of safety equipment is a constant challenge for shipowners. Nobody wants to compromise on safety but at the same time everybody wants to ensure that operations run as efficiently as possible. Managing the lifecycle of essential lifesaving devices can demand a great deal of time and planning, with inconvenient spikes in expenditure as equipment reaches end of life or requires unexpected repairs.
The Viking Shipowner Agreement is an umbrella arrangement for highly customisable servicing contracts covering all lifesaving equipment on board a ship. The real novelty in the Viking system is that it is designed from the shipowner’s perspective – as no two operations are completely alike, nor are two Viking Shipowner Agreements. However, there are some very important common denominators.
Reduced administrative burden
The basis of any Viking Shipowner Agreement is the fleet list, equipment lists and any route plans for each individual ship. It can also cater for special wishes and it will ensure that the service schedule is optimised as well. The time-consuming administrative tasks of handling and booking services are handled by Viking, freeing up considerable resources that can then be used elsewhere.
A striking feature of all of the agreements is the level of detail they cover. Thanks to the amount of information that is captured in setting up maintenance plans, many services can take place during regular port calls, eliminating the need to disrupt or postpone scheduled activities. Viking technicians are ready at the pier as the ship arrives, equipped with a detailed list of what must be serviced or replaced.
Ability to plan ahead
Besides being a cost-effective way to manage the servicing of marine safety equipment, the Viking Shipowner Agreement dramatically reduces the number of unknown factors and makes it possible to plan much further ahead than is possible with ad hoc servicing. Transparency is reinforced by a range of fixed-price payment options within the concept, allowing owners to fix service costs on a global scale. This is a big advantage in that it enables solid financial predictions on the cost of having a fleet’s marine safety equipment serviced. As a result, expenditure can be distributed across a set financial period, resulting in improved ability to establish a positive cash flow as unforeseen bills are avoided.
According to Niels Fraende, sales and marketing director of Viking Life-Saving Equipment, such transparency is central: “The ability to make solid forecasts is a huge benefit to our customers. As safety experts, we know that administering marine safety equipment is a complex affair and we are confident that our Shipowner Agreement is one of the most cost-effective, efficient and transparent service agreements on the market today.”