Survitec has ramped up its operations in China following government initiatives to get the world’s second largest economy moving again after three months in lockdown.

“While strict controls remain in place, we are pleased to see signs of recovery in China,” said Jena Tan, Regional Vice President, APAC, Survitec Marine.

“Many of the country’s shipbuilding and repair yards have reopened and most ports are now operational. However, our foremost concern is keeping our teams, customers and suppliers safe at all times.”

Survitec continues to remain vigilant and has implemented a suite of extra safety measures aimed at ensuring the safety of its workforce and customers. This includes the provision of personal protective equipment, such as face masks and hand sanitisers, to help safeguard personnel against infection.

“We are working closely with major ports and shipyards to help ensure teams are available to help fast track our customers’ projects delayed by the crisis, while adhering to the new and enhanced processes,” said Beibei Qiu, General Manager – China.

“We have reviewed our inventory in China and taken action to increase levels of key products to meet anticipated demand for ship servicing and early drydocking.

“While docking schedules have been affected as shipowners adapt to these unprecedented times, we do recommend planning ahead to ensure availability of drydocking slots when the market starts to recover. There could be bottlenecks and equipment delays if operators leave their drydocking and servicing requirements to last minute, when the time comes,” Qiu continued.

Tan furthered that business continuity planning is crucial, not least across Survitec’s own service and manufacturing hubs.

“We have implemented measures to minimise any potential operational impact on our customers.  All of our manufacturing facilities are staffed, operational, and are working to complete and deliver orders,” she said.

Although the company’s coronavirus strategy differs across each site and region, Survitec has deployed emergency cross-functional teams to lead on response planning across the Group.

“In China, as elsewhere, we will continue to issue advice and updates to our operations teams and carry out daily site reviews to identify and resolve any critical issues, including supply bottlenecks,” Tan said.

“We have implemented a comprehensive communications strategy across each site and carry out deep-cleans, disinfecting and sterilising our service stations globally, in line with regional, international and WHO policy on social distancing.

“In these challenging times, we are making every effort to limit the disruption to our customers’ business activities although our number one priority, as always, is to ensure the safety of people,” she said.