Marine Service Noord has been in operation since 1988, with extensive experience in the maritime industry, the company creates turnkey solutions for commercial shipping and superyachts (maintaining expertise in alternative fuels). CEO Niek Koops, Head of Sales & Design Department Gerard Eising and Sales & Marketing Engineer Richard van der Meer discussed the company’s impressive capabilities, in a report by Imogen Ward.
Initially engineering and constructing pipework for the engine rooms of short sea vessels, Marine Service Noord entered the superyacht sector in 2010, following the closure of its largest customer at that time, the Volharding shipyard.
“When our main customer ceased operations, we had to find something new,” Sales & Marketing Engineer Richard van der Meer said. “The superyacht sector is really interesting, and we began our first project for the Oceanco shipyard, developing engine room systems for 90 metre-long 3000GT superyachts. So; we switched from the short shipping sector to luxury superyachts.
“We also specialise in designing and constructing alternative fuel systems and technologies. We had designed and built the installation for the small LNG carrier
Pioneer Knutsen in 2004 and knew that this knowledge could be used for alternative fuels like LNG. We decided to write a new business plan and in that, we laid out two paths; one which focused on growth in the superyacht new-build and refit sector, and the other side incorporated project development for alternative fuels.”
The company completed its second LNG fuel-related project in 2013. Working with Chemgas to design and build a BV certified Fuel Gas Supply System (FGSS) for the inland tanker mv Sirocco. The company designed, assembled and commissioned the ship’s piping systems for both the engine room and the cargo handling systems.
Formulating a perfect solution
Following the success of Sirocco, Marine Service Noord expanded its capabilities within the alternative fuels sector. Now, the company designs and builds fuel systems for LNG, methanol and hydrogen, and the knowledge does not stop there; the company is currently working on an ammonia-fuelled project as well.
Recently, Marine Service Noord has witnessed a heavy interest aimed towards the capabilities of hydrogen. “If a customer has a low power requirement and only needs that power for a short period of time, then hydrogen is a great fuel option,” Mr van der Meer explained. “We have had a lot of interest for that particular fuel. However, for vessels requiring more power over longer time periods, it would make more sense to choose LNG, methanol or ammonia because of the energy density of the fuel.”
The company is known for its liquefied gas system designs. “Our Fuel Gas Supply Systems (FGSS) and Cargo Handling Systems (CHS) are a great example of Marine Service Noord’s capabilities,” Head of Sales & Design Department Gerard Eising said. “Chemical gases, like methane, propane or butane, when compressed or cooled become a liquid. We create systems suitable for handling these gases. We design it, build it and install it.”
On the topic of cargo handling systems, Mr Eising also commented on the possibility of trading CO2: “We don't see much talk about transporting CO2 at the moment, but we are sure that it will eventually become
an interesting trade. Currently we see little transport of CO2 but if you want to make efuels like methanol you will need CO2. Also, if we capture CO2 from factories it will have to be transported and that is not always possible through pipelines. If a ship needs to be built to transport liquid CO2, we are ready for that; we know exactly how to design those systems.”
Due to the alternative fuel transition being quite recent, the approval process for designs can be quite lengthy. However; thanks to Marine Service Noord’s experience with the risk-based design process, the company can complete it very efficiently and in a much shorter length of time.
State-of-the-art superyachts
Since its transition into the superyacht sector, Marine Service Noord has worked on a number of extremely impressive vessels.
In cooperation with Oceanco, the company has also worked on the Jubilee – the largest superyacht constructed in the Netherlands. Installing the piping systems for the engine room of the 110-metre yacht, Marine Service Noord also provided pre-engineering, 3Ddetailed engineering and the prefabrication of the carbon steel, stainless steel and cunifer piping.
To ensure the continuous fulfilment of customers’ requests, the company has made several recent investments, including a new bending machine. This machine enables Marine Service Noord to bend cunifer and Mapress piping for superyachts. With the size of superyachts increasing, these supersized vessels require piping systems with a much larger diameter. The new machine is capable of bending pipes with a diameter of up to 133mm and has saved the company considerable welding costs.
“We did a break-even analysis before we purchased the new machine we estimated how many bends we can make and what the investment of the machine would cost.
With that information, we deciphered how quickly we could make back the investment costs,” said Mr van der Meer. “Another smaller investment we made was to purchase Mapress tools for our people working at the shipyard. This purchase ensures all workers have enough equipment, which keeps the installation process efficient. As a result, we can save our customers money. These kinds of investments are very important to maintain our operational efficiency.”
Excellent customer service
Customer satisfaction is incredibly important for Marine Service Noord: the company maintains contact with clients through every step of the process and even provides support following project completion, to ensure they remain happy. “It’s very important to
have a good service and after-sales department,”added Mr van der Meer. “It not only shows commitment to our customers but gives them the opportunity to provide feedback on the systems we design and build.
“We do everything from the first lines on paper to commissioning, and to get that feedback is very helpful. Whether it is positive or constructive, it enables us to incorporate improvements into our new system designs.”
“Ultimately, our aim is simple: we try to develop long-term relationships with our customers, and keeping them happy is a big part of that,” CEO Niek Koops said. “ Of course, we work with other companies on a short-term basis as well. However, we try to focus on developing long-term connections. These often last for many years and together with our customers we create innovative designs that make them want to return.”
Going forward, Marine Service Noord plans to continue providing exceptional service for customers. “As long as we maintain our focus on new, innovative projects, I think
there will always be a place for us,” Mr Koops concluded. “We will continue to develop relationships with other companies in the market, such as ship designers and electrotechnical partners, because we need them for the successful development of our own designs.
“We will meticulously grow our business one step at a time, building great teams and relationships along the way.” n
