Liferaft exchange goes global

The liferaft rental and exchange concept (LRE) now includes over 12,000 liferafts, but the company says it has not been without its challenges. To enable the scheme to work effectively, WSS has had to appoint 42 service stations covering 900 ports in strategic locations, equipped with service and liferaft exchange stocks to meet customer demands. WSS says it is essential that all the participating service stations have the right approvals from the manufacturers and local authorities as well as enough liferafts of the right sizes. The stock of such liferafts is managed by due-date monitoring systems in order to meet the individual needs of customers.

Over the last six months, Wilhelmsen Ships Service has added the ports of Antwerp (Belgium), Gothenburg (Sweden), Istanbul (Turkey), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Valparaiso (Chile), Bintulu (Malaysia), Darwin (Australia), Singapore and New York to the network. In most cases, the liferaft stations involved in the programme can service vessels in a number of nearby ports, as well as providing other FRS (Fire Rescue and Safety) services.

The LRE solution was developed as a result of consultation with customers and facilitates the exchange of service-due liferafts for operational ones, enabling the vessel owner to take better control of costs and thus reducing the occurrence of unreliable service dates and weak links in the supply chain.