Harding Inks Deals with Three Industry Giants

In the past few weeks, Harding, an international supplier of maritime safety equipment, has signed three framework agreements with Statoil (STO), Petrobras and A.P. Møller Mærsk.

"This shows that our global strategy of being a complete supplier of both equipment and services was the right strategy for the company," said Styrk Bekkenes, CEO of Harding. Statoil is Harding's biggest client on the Norwegian continental shelf, with over 120 lifeboat systems in operation. Statoil has entered a five-year framework agreement with Harding for the delivery of new lifeboat systems, modifications, maintenance and onshore services.

Harding has signed a fleet service agreement with Petrobras, one of the largest international oil companies. The agreement covers 68 lifeboats from different manufacturers. Harding will carry out periodic inspections, testing and maintenance.

"This agreement is the beginning of a long-term collaboration with Petrobras and it is of great strategic value in relation to our focus on the Brazilian market," Bekkenes said.

"Our ability to be competitive in servicing equipment from other suppliers, combined with our extensive and well-established service network were determining factors for Petrobras' choice of Harding as maintenance partner for the 68 lifeboats," saidRaphael Maciel.

In addition, global shipping giant A.P. Møller Mærsk signed a framework agreement with Harding for the replacement of lifeboat hooks in its whole fleet. Initially, 82 vessels with a total of 164 lifeboats will be equipped with new hooks, which are vital components of the release systems for davit-launched lifeboats. With new hooks installed, the lifeboats will meet the new safety standards in the international MSC 1392 regulations.

The framework agreement with A.P. Møller Mærsk also includes regular inspections of the life-saving equipment on all Mærsk vessels every fifth year, as well as the delivery of spare parts.

"This agreement with one of the world's biggest shipping and offshore companies is a real feather in Harding's cap. We have been working to secure this contract for a long time, naturally in keen competition with several other good tenderers, and I believe that our focus on being accessible for our global customers tipped the scales in our favor,' Bekkenes said.

"Our ability to serve Maersk in almost any location puts us in a leading position compared to our competitors," said Marcel Pex, Service Sales Director at Harding. He adds that, with this contract, Harding is now the leading company for the performance of re-hooking jobs and making vessels compliant with the MSC 1392 regulations.

New technology has made it possible to produce more oil and gas from fields that are already in production, a factor that has led to many Norwegian offshore installations and their lifeboat systems undergoing an upgrading programme to increase service life.

The Norwegian shelf represents Harding's biggest single market for offshore products and services, and today the company has over 220 lifeboats in place on over 50 North Sea installations to be developed according to the DNV-OS-E406 specifications, contrary to the normal IMO standard.