In June 2018, Greek dry bulk operator Safe Bulkers selected Alfa Laval to retrofit 20 of its vessels with Alfa Laval PureSOx scrubber systems for exhaust gas cleaning. The company has now gone on to sign a long-term Alfa Laval Service Agreement, which will safeguard compliance through connectivity and more. 

Safe Bulkers ordered PureSOx retrofits for 12 Post-Panamax vessels, 6 Kamsarmax vessels and 2 Capesize vessels, with deliveries running until March 2020. Almost 15 of those systems, which comprise open-loop scrubbers configured for multiple inlet sources, have now been installed at COSCO retrofit yards with engineering design of Alpha Marine Consulting P.C. Throughout the process, Alfa Laval has partnered closely with the yards, providing support through locally based project managers with strong backing from PureSOx product centre in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

“Alfa Laval’s project management has really been first-rate,” says Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President of Safe Bulkers. “Not only was there no time difference or language barrier in working with our yards, there was never any question about scope or responsibilities. Alfa Laval’s team worked with us proactively to solve issues as quickly as possible, and they brought additional resources to the yard whenever time or flexibility became a concern.”

Taking the cooperation further

With the majority of the PureSOx retrofits completed, Safe Bulkers is now looking ahead to secure trouble-free operation. Recently, the company signed a tailored Alfa Laval Service Agreement that will deepen the partnership between the two companies. The agreement includes connectivity and lifecycle-oriented services selected from the Alfa Laval PureSOx 360° Service Portfolio, provided for a flat yearly fee.

“We feel very satisfied with the scrubber project execution, and we want to be equally successful in the operation of our PureSOx systems,” says Dr. Barmparis. “The Alfa Laval Service Agreement will help us safeguard long-term performance, for example by using data analysis to keep systems performing at their peak.”