On 30 January it was reported that the Port of London Authority (PLA), which is responsible for the safety of navigation on the tidal Thames, had signed a new deal with Reygar Ltd for the expansion of BareFLEET, Reygar’s advanced remote monitoring system, across the PLA’s varied fleet of multi-cat, crewboat, and survey vessels.
As one would expect a high level of fleet serviceability and operational efficiency is a key priority for the PLA. By investing in the latest in fully integrated fleet health and performance monitoring, it is reported that the PLA are taking a best practice, data-based approach to the operation of its varied fleet.
As well as informing the PLA’s preventative maintenance strategy by monitoring engine health and performance, BareFLEET provides the PLA’s operations team with a complete understanding of fuel consumption, engine efficiency, and CO2 emissions across their varied fleet of workboats. Following an initial contract for ten BareFLEET systems, the business has now signed an agreement with Reygar for 14 further installations.
Chris Huxley-Reynard, Engineering Director, Reygar, said: It is essential that British ports remain competitive internationally as we negotiate our future international trading relationships. Ensuring our ports, waterways, and the vessels that use them are effectively and efficiently managed is key to this goal.
‘A more comprehensive adoption of BareFLEET will further streamline the PLA’s preventative and planned maintenance strategy, ensuring maximum availability for its versatile fleet of vessels whilst reducing unnecessary expenditure.
‘By pulling all critical data streams from the vessel into a single portal, the PLA’s operations team will have the oversight and flexibility to make further improvements to how downtime is managed, as well as advise on how vessels can be more efficiently piloted to reduce unnecessary fuel burn and emissions.
‘We are proud to support the PLA in its world-class approach to port operations, and in continuing to reduce the environmental impact of its vital work.’
Andy Osborne, Marine Engineering Manager, PLA, added: ‘Advanced monitoring of vessel activities is central to our work to continuously improve the performance and efficiency of our vessels.
‘The BareFLEET system allows us to pinpoint where and why any issues such as excess fuel burn are occurring. Acting on these insights not only reduces fuel costs, but reduces energy use across our operations. This enables us to operate efficiently and minimise fuel use.’
Our illustration shows mooring maintenance vessel London Titan* kindly provided by the Port of London Authority©.
About Reygar
Established in 2012, Reygar provides fully integrated remote monitoring and fleet reporting systems to the marine industry.
BareFLEET is a pioneering fleet monitoring platform that offers an unparalleled level of insight into all aspects of fleet performance and health. Developed to help maximise the operational effectiveness of fleets, BareFLEET automatically gathers a comprehensive set of engine, navigational, vibration, motion and health data, including fuel efficiency, CO2 emissions, vertical heave motion, tower impact and push-on force, plus indications of motion sickness.
For more information about Reygar and the BareFLEET platform readers are invited to visit: www.reygar.co.uk
*For more on this service craft see here: http://www.pla.co.uk/About-Us/PLA-Mooring-Maintenance-Vessel-London-Titan
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With travel corridors being closed and new travel restrictions imposed, airlines are once again cancelling or reducing flights which poses a problem for crew transiting to vessels. It is understood from Danica that ports too, if they have reopened, are imposing greater restrictions.
Henrik Jensen (pictured), Managing Director of Danica Crewing Services, has warned: ‘I believe we may be heading for a new crew change crisis every bit as bad as last spring. Over the past six months crew changes have been possible in many cases, although they have been costly and complex. However, now we are seeing a range of new restrictions and barriers to crew travel while also facing some serious issues in relation to crew health risk factors. I can foresee this impacting heavily on crew changes for the next few months.’
Danica specialises in crew deployment and has been assisting a range of ship operators in order to achieve crew changes over the past year. As a result, the company is fully aware of the latest rules and restrictions and well-placed to notice how they are impacting crewing.
Jensen explained: ‘In response to the rapid increase in infections around the world, governments are imposing new or additional measures including travel restrictions. Although these measures are understandable in the circumstances, based on scientific evidence, and intended to provide protection for their populations, they also cause operational and logistical problems for crew changes.
