Back in 2019, the technical department at Alfons Hakans noticed a need to modernise and upgrade the propulsion control system on its Azimuth Stern Drive tug Artemis. It was no longer possible to get spare parts for its original control system; and although it was still reliable, for safety reasons the company decided to look for reasonable solutions for a full-scale upgrade.
“We noticed pretty quickly that it made sense to renew all parts related to the control of the propulsion units,” says technical manager Tuomas Raumanen. “Basically, everything between the master’s hands and propulsion units had to be replaced, including things like control levers, cables, computer units, and feedback sensors.”
Alfons Hakans began to look for suppliers, and Steerprop, located near Hakans’ headquarters, promptly gave a quotation. Raumanen notes that Hakans particularly appreciated the ease of communication and rapid responses, and this, topped with fast delivery and a reasonable price, made Steerprop an obvious choice.
Minimal downtime
The final order was confirmed at the end of 2020. First, Steerprop paid a few visits to get to know Artemis and its operations. During these visits, a timetable was set to ensure the downtime of the tug was kept to a minimum.
To decrease the amount of downtime, Hakans’ own workers and subcontractors started preliminary works, such as installing new cables and manufacturing foundations for electric cabinets, whilst the tug was still operating normally. Meanwhile, Steerprop was building the entire control system at their workshop.
“This way the installation time onboard would be as short as possible,” Raumanen says.
The installation began at the end of August. First, the old control system was dismantled, and the team ensured that all necessary cables had been installed. Next, all-electric cabinets related to the new system were installed, which was an easy process thanks to all the preliminary work.
Connecting the new cables to different units was the most time-consuming part, and it was completed on schedule. After seven days of work, it was time to run a test. During the sea trials, the adjusting of the final parameters was easily done as it had been considered already when planning the software.
Contacts
Esa Peltomaa
Technical Sales Manager
+358 44 281 8079
[email protected]
