LONDON Ship Managers (LSM) has made savings in 9,000 gross tons of reefer ships after discovering refrigerant leaks, claims the company that did the work, Oceanic Technical Solutions (OTS).
Savings, peace of mind result from finding leaks in reefer ships LONDON Ship Managers (LSM) has made savings in 9,000 gross tons of reefer ships after discovering refrigerant leaks, claims the company that did the work, Oceanic Technical Solutions (OTS). An engineering team from OTS, the British refrigeration specialist carried out complete marine refrigeration inspections aboard the Cala Portese, Cala Piana, Cala Pevero and Cala Piccola, said the company press release. "We found we were spending substantial time and resources looking and checking for gas leaks which were still not being efficiently detected," said LSM technical fleet manager Mike Seymour. "This, along with losses of refrigerant, obviously had a monetary impact, which we also wanted to reduce," he said. LSM operates large direct expansion-type reefer plants with a substantial amount of pipe work penetrating decks and bulkheads, so gas monitoring and detection is highly complex. "We transport bananas and pineapples so maintaining a 13.3 degrees is crucial. If we lose refrigerant, not only does it result in unnecessary expenditure, it puts undue stress on the compressors and it could result in cargo loss," Mr Seymour said. Although the ships operate outside of European F-Gas rules, its good practice to ensure our ships operate in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, said the company. Said OTS technical director Dave Lloyd: "Two of the vessels were found to have major refrigerant leaks, and were difficult to find. Moisture build-up around insulated pipes and bulkhead penetrations corrode pipe work, resulting in substantial refrigerant loss."
