The Port of Singapore Authority increased maintenance intervals from 14 days to 9 months after installing a new seawater cooling system on board one of its tugboats.
When Norwegian technology company Hydroniq Coolers had completed the development of its Pleat seawater cooling system, it searched far and wide for a vessel operator that was willing to try out the new system.
In the Port of Singapore Authoritys (PSA) subsidiary company PSA Marine (Pte) Ltd., it found a cooperation partner willing to try out the new technology on board one of its busy tugboats that operated in Singapore Bay.
The deal was that Hydroniq Coolers would provide its Pleat seawater cooler and install it on board PSAs tug vessel free of charge. In return, PSA would test the cooler for six months and allow Hydroniq Coolers to witness the maintenance of the system.
Marine cooling systems are utilized to reduce temperatures in the ships engines and other auxiliary systems through the use of seawater.
After this experience, PSA and Hydroniq Coolers also entered into an agreement to replace the plate heat exchangers with Pleat coolers on the rest of its tugboat fleet.