BMT enters Chinese market

The latest hull-stress monitoring technology and the ability to turn around a crucial order in less than a week has seen BMT SeaTech Ltd, a subsidiary of British Maritime Technology (BMT), secure entry into the Chinese shipping market.

BMT was contracted by the Hebei Ocean Shipping Company (HOSCO) to supply its world-leading hull SMART Stress system for a 250,000DWT tanker which is being converted into the bulk carrier ?Hebei Innovator?. With the vessel already in drydock in the Shanhaiguan Shipyard and with only 15 weeks remaining for its conversion, BMT were able to send the first shipment of equipment within the very first week.

HOSCO?s decision to use SMART Stress followed on from its purchasing of the ?Shun Kim? (now the ?Hebei Dragon?), a vessel equipped with one of the earlier versions of the software. On recommendation of the ship?s master, HOSCO decided that SMART?s capabilities fulfilled their specific requirements.

Chris Hughes, Manager ? SMART systems at BMT SeaTech commented: “HOSCO needed a reliable stress monitoring package to allow then to accurately measure the forces which the Hebei Innovator?s hull will be subjected to. Given this new client?s very tight timeframe we put every effort into delivering our services as rapidly as possible.”

SMART Stress is already installed in over 100 vessels worldwide and provides ship?s masters and shipowners with the latest in onboard stress monitoring and fatigue calculation. Following this contract, BMT has received promising enquiries for at least three more vessels in China.

Gwynne Lewis, Operations Director at BMT SeaTech said “This contract represents the first sale of SMART to a Chinese ship owner, the first installation of SMART in China and the first order through BMT SeaTech?s Chinese agents, Shanghai Business Solutions Ltd. Given the prominence of the Chinese market we are pleased to have secured this contract and encouraged by the further enquiries which have resulted.”