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A huge and speedy delivery to India

Late March, one of the world’s largest cargo aircraft took off from Norway to deliver KM propulsion equipment to a customer in India. 

  • Text:Cato Werner Gustavsen

​“Our KM India team received an urgent request on Friday evening during the week before Easter. We immediately started to process the request and we managed to deliver with an extremely short response time and exceeded our customer’s expectations,” says Jon Erik Ertesvaag, Aftermarket Contract Manager at Kongsberg Maritime.

The customer needed a new Azipull AZP120 CP thruster replacement unit from KM. This type of thruster weighs 25 000 kg and is the main azimuth propulsion unit for manoeuvring and steering, attitude control and dynamic positioning.

A LOGISTICAL MIRACLE

Due to the complexity of shipping such a large and heavy thruster unit, KM assisted in the logistical process. KM, in collaboration with the customer, agent and the Norwegian Civil Airport Authority (AVINOR), selected the Antonov aircraft as the delivery vehicle. KM presented its safety lifting, loading and transport instructions to all parties to ensure quality assurance in both Norway and India.

“We are used to handling complex, big and heavy units weighing up to 100 000 kg, but shipping out a big unit by an Antonov aircraft is extraordinary,” Ertesvaag says.

A FIRST FOR KM IN SOUTH ASIA

The replacement unit was supported by a Thruster Support Pool (TSP) along with additional tools and equipment from KM Aftermarket in Ulsteinvik, Norway. The TSP provides KMs customers with replacement units in many different combinations, types and sizes, giving customers many benefits.

This service reduces delivery time from storage and time in dry dock resulting in increased vessel availability and reduced off-hire costs. The TSP gives an estimated dry dock time for 4-7 days, compared with overhaul at yard estimated to 21 days + lead times for parts. 

“Thruster Support Pool exchange of AZP120 has never been performed in South Asia before, but through remote training and written procedure support from KM Aftermarket at Ulsteinvik, our experienced KM engineers in India were well prepared for the work scope and execution in dry dock. The exchange is ongoing and planned to be completed in a week,” Ertesvaag says.

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APPLAUDED BY THE CUSTOMER

The team executed the project and process through a strong collaboration effort between KM India, KM Americas and KM Norway at Ulsteinvik with many KM colleagues involved.

“The collaboration and determination from the whole team throughout the project to meet our customer request and expectation has really shown that we are a reliable supplier for our customers,” Ertesvaag says.

“As a result of this team effort, our customer tells us that they are extremely satisfied with the delivery, service and support from KM throughout this process,” Ertesvaag says proudly.

 

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