Bureau Veritas joins Maritime Remanufacturing Network in inaugural project

The Maritime Remanufacturing Network (MRN) has reached an agreement with classification society Bureau Veritas to collaborate on a ground-breaking project that will involve the remanufacturing of a more than twenty year-old ship thruster. Due to start in October 2023, the project marks an exciting step towards the maritime industry increasing its re-use of materials while reducing its overall carbon footprint.

Remanufacturing is the act of bringing a used product back to its ‘as new’ performance specifications. This is different from the long-established activities of repairing, overhauling or reconditioning that only return a product to serviceable levels of functionality. By extending the lifecycle of a component, remanufacturing can lead to significant cost savings, estimated to be between 40-60 per cent, when compared to the costs of buying new equipment. In addition to this economic impact, remanufactured components have the potential to lower the environmental impact of production by 60-80 per cent (these figures are sourced from a white paper compiled by the Delft University of Technology, commissioned by the MRN).

The MRN was founded this year by AEGIR-Marine, a globally operating company that provides maintenance and repair services and spare parts for ship stern seal and propulsion systems. Since its founding, the MRN has received positive feedback from throughout the maritime industry and has already attracted a number of partners. However, as AEGIR-Marine owner Ruud Muis says, there was a definite need to obtain the support from a classification society. “Remanufacturing is new for the maritime industry. Therefore, there are no class-approved rules to specify the methods and end results of the remanufacturing process. That’s why getting a classification society involved with the Maritime Remanufacturing Network was so important. We are very happy to be working with Bureau Veritas on this inaugural project.”

AEGIR-Marine will be carrying out the thruster remanufacturing project at a specially created remanufacturing laboratory that it has set up. The project consists of two used thrusters that have been sourced from the same vessel. Because the two thrusters are identical and have undergone the same operating lifecycle, they will be ideal to demonstrate the potential benefits of remanufacturing. The project team will remanufacture the first thruster and recondition the second.

Representatives from Bureau Veritas will be present throughout the project to monitor and support the entire process. This will include discussions with the MRN team concerning the various challenges that are expected to arise as the project progresses. “Because no one has ever carried out a maritime remanufacturing project like this before, there are so many unanswered questions,” Muis notes. “Bureau Veritas will be helping us come up with the procedural and technical solutions that will enable us to reach our goal of creating a class-approved methodology for remanufacturing maritime components.”

“The maritime industry has come to the point where we have to look at the impact we have on the environment. Remanufacturing represents a new way of thinking: one that raises a lot of questions, but certainly no resistance,” Muis concludes.

Visit the Bureau Veritas website: click here
Visit the AEGIR-Marine website: click here