The Specialised Marine Services division of Sturrock Grindrod Maritime (SGM), Marine Tech, has a new man at the helm – Guy Sampson – who brings more than 20 years’ maritime experience to the position.
Well known to the shipping fraternity in Cape Town, Guy has always admired the people centric and can-do philosophy of the Sturrock Grindrod family businesses and is determined to make a contribution of steering Marine Tech into the future under the same ethos.
“I am excited at the prospect of further developing this important aspect of the SGM group business and have the support of a team of professionals many of whom are seafarers and understand conditions at sea” said Guy.
“Marine Tech is the specialised technical procurement and marine engineering division of SGM and are the exclusive South African sales and service representatives for a plethora of reputable international equipment manufacturers and global suppliers of high-quality products to the marine industry. These products, together with our in-house team of marine engineers, technicians and procurement specialists – all under one roof – means that our service know-how can be called upon either on-shore or on board, anywhere on the African continent” enthused Guy.
As seafarers’ lives depend on the equipment they use, having it serviced by people who have been to sea and understand the demanding conditions they face, makes all the difference and adds extra value to Marine Tech’s customers.
Whether it is the servicing or repair to main or auxiliary engines, life boats, life rafts, firefighting or fire rescue equipment, Marine Tech have the trained personnel for the job.
Its procurement team is able to assist with the sourcing of all technical equipment and Marine Tech have a dedicated cargo hold and tank cleaning team that ensure vessel hatches pass inspection prior to loading.
Technical and procurement assistance can be supplied anywhere on the African coast and provide riding gangs to sail with the ship in cases where the port stay is too short.
SGMT offers an accredited life raft and survival equipment services as well as repair facilities both in Cape Town and Durban, approved by the US Coast Guard and the South African Maritime Safety Authority. This service is performed by its highly qualified and manufacturer-trained technicians.
As supply of potable fresh water to vessels calling at the Port of Cape Town was suspended about 4 months ago, what solutions can Marine Tech suggest to its customers?
“With the drought situation getting steadily worse in Cape Town, and having the agency for Gefico and the Cathelco range of on-board reverse osmosis desalinators, we are currently investigating making these units available for land based usage” noted Guy.
“The Cathelco equipment range caters for capacities of between 333ℓ/h right up to 2083ℓ/h, making them suitable for residential and commercial use such as waterfront hotels, shops and restaurants.
“The units which come in nine basic output configurations can be customized to individual specifications and are completely automatic in operation. Being intended for ship-board use, the units are ruggedly constructed, compact and durable with a small footprint in both modular and skid mounted arrangements. A comprehensive range of water sterilization systems are also available” he explained.
Other major product lines available from Marine Tech include the Baudouin range of slow and medium speed marine propulsion engines suitable for fishing vessels and auxiliary and emergency generators from the same manufacturer. The Merus Ring water treatment agency protects water systems on ships and oil platforms from limescale, biofouling, algae and mussel growth as well as corrosion. C-Sheild, also from Cathelco, is an ICCP cathodic anti-corrosion system recognised world-wide and installed on more than 6 000 vessels of all types.
Marine Tech is ISO:9001 and TRACE certified (anti bribery and corruption), is a Level 2 B-BBEE contributor and provides ongoing comprehensive customer service and developmental training effort across the group. This emphasis on customer service has been the company’s mantra ever since it opened its doors and its culture of developing its people’s potential is a key element in its ethical reputation.
“With a product line up from some of the world’s best manufacturers and a professional, highly knowledgeable and dedicated technical team within an organisation renowned for its customer centric culture, there is only one way for the fortunes of Marine Tech to go, and that is full steam ahead!” concluded Guy.
