With experts predicting the tanker market will see strong growth for years, tanker owners are relying on a planned maintenance program with frequent assessments of their critically important cargo pump systems to ensure safe transport of oil and avoid costly downtime.

According to Jeroen Bink, Division Director Cargo Pumps of the Dutch-based Cargo Care Solutions, a quarterly assessment of the condition of the hydraulic oil in the cargo pump system, combined with an annual inspection of the entire system, is the key to peak performance.

“We are seeing an uptick in the number of tanker ship owners and managers signing up for our program which provides crucial updates on cargo pump condition multiple times throughout the year,” he said.

The Lifetime Support programme designed by Cargo Care Solutions monitors cargo pump systems in a frequent timetable to identify potential issues before they cause major downtime or expensive repairs.

The programme includes taking a hydraulic oil sample from the cargo pump system every three months and testing it for particle count, water content, and total acid number. In addition, an annual inspection of the entire cargo pump system includes purging all pumps, analysing purging logs, and visual inspection of the system by Cargo Care’s skilled engineers.

With the Lifetime Support Program, tanker operators can also receive remote support from Cargo Care’s technical experts who can provide advice by phone or email while the vessel is underway.

“This kind of planned maintenance is proving to have positive effects on operational costs and overall vessel safety,” says Mr Bink. “Tanker owners are achieving higher uptime and improved lifetime of the components in the cargo pump system.

“Most importantly, given the intense market demand, tanker owners will gain peace of mind in knowing they are proactively pursuing a trouble-free and profitable cargo operation,” he adds.