Sea Asia 2013 Report

Sea Asia 2013 Report

Singhai Marine Services (S) Ptd Ltd

Larry Tay

12 April 2013

Firstly, I wish to thank Singhai Marine Services (S) Pte Ltd, for granting me the opportunity to visit the inaugural Sea Asia 2013. It was really an eye opener and the exhibition has provided me with a glimpse of the maritime industry.

“Sea Asia 2013 represents, not only a platform for exchanging of knowledge and opinion, but a valuable tool for sales and marketing teams seeking to expand customer bases. The strong support from the international shipping community is testament to its value. The exhibition featured close to 400 exhibitiors representing a diversity of products, technology and services from all over the world” [Welcome message from Seatrade, Sea Asia 2013].

Sea Asia 2013 exhibition entrance

Upon arrival to the venue and towards the registration counter, I felt a little nervous and a tinge of excitement to see what is there being offered. Some of the big names I saw such as Keppel Offshore & Marine, NOL Group, PSA Corporation Limited and Sembcorp Marine Limited. Once inside the exhibition hall, the first booth that caught my attention was Sembcorp Marine Ltd. They had this miniture model of an oil rig labeled ‘Development Driller’. Sembcorp Marine Ltd is a global marine and offshore engineering group, specialised in a full spectrum of integrated solutions in ship repair, shipbuilding, ship conversion, rig building and offshore engineering and construction. They are recognised as a niche player in design and newbuilding of a wide variety of vessels.

[Miniature model of an oil rig by Sembcorp Marine Ltd, Development Driller]

Next we stumbled upon Kobelt Manufacturing Limited, manufacturing marine controls. They offer a wide array of products from electronic controls, disc brakes, push-pull controls to hydraulic steering and accessories. Captain Zhang Song had the opportunity to try out the ‘illuminated electronic control head’, which the marketing executive said it can be connected to a single or twin engines. The keypad offers switches for the standard features: Station Select, Station Lock, Throttle Override and Synchornization. They also showcase some of the hydraulic steering and accessories such as the ‘electronic full follow-up amplifier’.

Hydraulic Steering & Accessories

Electronic Push-Pull Lever Controls

Another supplier of integrated ship systems we came across was KONGSBERG. Chief Enginner Niu and Captain Zhang Song tells me KONGSBERG was one of the distinguished brands found on-board ships. They specialised in vessel/engine performance as well as dynamic positioning of vessels.

There is really a lot to offer in the Sea Asia 2013 exhibition especially for ship owners. Companies showcasing their products such as ropes, anti-piracy equipments and systems, window pane wipper, GPS systems, anchors, bunkers and even logistics suppliers. Moreover, there are several classification societies such as ClassNK (Nippon Kaiji Kyokai), CSS (China Classification Society) and GL (Germanischer Lloyd).

Watchkeeping tools

The Offshore Marine Centre (OMC) managed by Jurong Port has an interesting display in its booth. They had a miniature display of Jurong Port which is the key operation of their services, providing port infrastructure and space. 

The OMC is a dedicated offshore and marine terminal that offers an integrated suite of logistics solutions targeting primarily at equipment manufacturers and fabricators from the oil and gas industry. It also provides a common-user berthing infrastructure and services that can support a wide spectrum of offshore and marine operations, such as project cargo handling and mobilization of offshore supply vessel’s (OSV). I had the opportunity to speak with Mr Walter Lin, OMC’s Deputy Manager. He shares with me the key operation aspects of OMC and how their services would give them an edge over their competitors. Before leaving, we exchanged hand-shakes and he wishes me all the best in my maritime career.

[Miniature Scale Model of Jurong Port, OMC]

Before we left for lunch, we stop by Wuxi Hongyuan Devflex Co Ltd, manufacturing wire rope vibration isolation device. In my opinion, I think this company offers the most unique and feasible product. With the series of vibration isolation device fitted onto ship engines and machineries, not only it could reduce the amount of noise it produces while in operation, but minimised vibration and turbulence, which in turn, reduce the chances of machinery wear and tear. Chief Engineer Niu, whose main responsibilities is in-charge of all the engines and auxiliaries’ machinery on-board a vessel, felt that it would be very beneficial to have this series of vibration isolation device installed. That said, I felt that this product must be installed during newbuilding to maximise its efficiency, else, installing this device half-way or near the shelve life of the machinery would be quite redundant. Another problem is that ship owners may not be willing to provide additional capital to install the product as they felt it may not be necessary.

Series of Vibration Isolation Devices  

In this picture, a glass of water is placed above a running motor. Notice the motor’s surrounding is fitted with series of vibration isolation device and above it, more series of it. Vibration is widely reduced as seen from the glass of water and if you are on the site itself, can hear that noise is greatly reduced as well.

Vibration Isolation Device in Demostration

In Conclusion

With Singhai Marine Services (S) Pte Ltd giving me the opportunity to visit the Sea Asia 2013 exhibition, I experience first-hand that shipping is an ever-growing industry. Not only it is growing rapidly, but the emergence of new companies with their various products and services competing with the existing markets offers at very competitive rates.

For example, new oil companies’ aiming to be the new oil major in the market offers very detailed blend of bunkers and lube-oil , pumping at very detailed rate and viscosity. Also, with the growing demand of trades around the world, the demand for seafarers is steadily increasing over the years, and the trend is that most seafarers could not commit to working on-board vessel due to their commitment ashore.

Although is it pity that we could not attend any talks giving by exhibitors, I already find myself very fortunate to have gone to this exhibition with two very experienced seafarer. They are none other than my operations manager in Singhai Marine Services, Captain Zhang Song, and Chief Engineer Niu. They were there to clear my doubts and feed me with their experience to fill my curiosity. They know which the dominating brands in the market are and which product or services are best suited to which type of vessels.

Through this exhibition, I discover that the maritime industry is an ever-learning process and that one could never stop learning. I hope Singhai Marine Services (S) Ptd Ltd, Mr Terence Zhao Wei, would grant me more opportunities to attend such events should it ever arise in the future and present me with more exposure to the maritime industry.