NSB Group chooses Telemar comms package

Buxtehude-based Niederelbe Schiffahrtsgesellschaft (NSB Group) is to use a Telemar communications package to support maintenance and compliance requirements on board half of its managed vessels. NSB currently has about 50 vessels under management and about 1,700 personnel at sea.

The contract has been signed following a period of testing and evaluation during which Telemar engineers worked closely with a NSB team to assess the shipping company’s requirements. The two-year deal will involve Telemar’s shore-based team supporting shipboard maintenance, including remote service coordination for troubleshooting and diagnostics.

Specific components are covered. They include the annual radio survey, bi-annual magnetic compass calibration, annual voyage data recorder performance test and certificate of compliance, single gyro compass overhaul, annual radar inspection, radar magnetron replacement, and maintenance of search and rescue radar transponders, emergency position-indicating radio beacons, global maritime distress and safety systems, handheld radios, and voyage data recorder beacons.

The communications company will provide its Telemar World Service 4.0 system, a web-based tool for managing service-due dates, increasing awareness, and optimising vessel availability. The strategy will also provide NSB Group with more predictability in its vessel operations. The equipment included in the contract supports both navigational safety and more uptime. This means that performance data can be shared in close to real time if necessary.

Selvam Panneer, chief operating officer of NSB Group, commented: "The goal of NSB Group is to ensure the best ship management experience for our customers at a worldwide scale, constantly improving our services to the evolving needs of our clients. Maintaining our required level of vessel availability means knowing that our assets are in optimum condition and in full compliance, thanks to comprehensive cover from Telemar."

Telemar Group CEO, Mike Bauwens, said: "Telemar’s services are designed to support vessel operators and managers in markets that are complex and highly demanding, with no margin for error. Working closely with NSB Group has enabled us to develop a programme that will keep NSB’s vessels competitive and compliant - today and tomorrow."

In addition to its ship management services, NSB also undertakes ship construction supervision and is currently supervising eleven newbuilding projects in China.