Spliethoff Group on working with Normec MTS
Normec MTS' approach makes a huge difference
Spliethoff has existed since 1921 and has grown into a group of shipping companies with thousands of employees worldwide. With more than 130 ships, the company provides all types of sea transport of dry cargo, mainly in the form of project cargoes.
Alex Fokkens is part of the shipping company's Quality Health Safety Security Environment Department. One of his tasks is to manage the processes for the various water tests on board the ships. He talks about his collaboration with Normec MTS.
Normec MTS' approach makes a huge difference
Alex: ‘As a global company, we have to comply with international legislation. For this, I regularly attend courses. During one of those courses I met Hans van der Wart, managing director of Normec MTS. I immediately found his background in the laboratory world interesting. When Spliethoff was looking for a new party to test the various water samples on board, I approached him. Our cooperation started with a small project on scrubber water testing. Our ships run on high-sulphur fuel oil, whose exhaust gases need to be cleaned to reduce sulphur emissions into the air. This is done in scrubber plants using seawater. To comply with the regulations of both IMO and the, specifically US, VGP, this scrubber water has to be tested. Thanks to Normec MTS, we could do this with smaller, and therefore easy to ship, sample kits than we were used to before. That made a huge difference for us.’
Being a good employer
‘After that successful introduction, Normec MTS also started testing ballast water for us. According to regulations, we are obliged to have the treatment system certified. We also have to report annually to the US authorities when ships have called at a US port in that calendar year. That project was also excellent, after which we jointly picked up and centralised the drinking water testing on board the ships. We are a leading shipping company operating globally. We just have to be compliant. While testing drinking water on board Dutch-flagged ships is not a requirement, we consider providing good-quality drinking water for our crews to be a matter of good employment practice. In principle, we test the drinking water once a year per ship, unless anomalous values are measured. It is an expense, but these are not things you should skimp on.’
Alex FokkensQuality Health Safety Security Environment Department, Spliethoff Group
With Normec MTS's hands-on approach, we know that everything gets resolved properly.
Customisation and flexibility
‘Together with Hans, Spliethoff wrote the sampling instructions for different ships. By literally coming on board and tailoring the services to the situation, Normec MTS delivers customisation. We have specific wishes about the interpretation of the compliance processes. Normec MTS deals with this flexibly. In fact, I think that is their biggest advantage. When we need something, it is arranged very quickly. Even if adjustments are needed somewhere, they are carried out immediately. Those short lines of communication work very well. Of course, we have to comply with regulations. Thanks to Normec MTS' hands-on approach, we know that everything will be resolved properly. The support we need for the compliance processes is in good hands at Normec MTS.’