WSS’ Paul Rogers.
WSS’ welding safety inspection service, launched earlier this year in Singapore, deals head-on with the challenges faced by vessel owners and operators in maintaining welding equipment on board and ensuring operational practices are up to date with regulations, the company said.
Currently, this inspection service is offered free of charge to existing customers.
Paul Rogers, WSS’ commercial director, Northeast Asia, said: “On board maintenance engineers have to cope with a huge variety of repairs, which often have to be undertaken at sea under challenging conditions.
“Welding and using welding equipment on board are effectively unregulated practices that carry with them a number of potentially serious safety risks. Until now, these risks have not been addressed by one single market supplier and there is a general lack of understanding and knowledge around welding equipment and practices,” he said.
Risks to seafarers from poor practices, or badly maintained equipment range from electric shock to gas cylinder explosions. The inspection programme enables WSS safety engineers to check welding and related equipment on board ships and ensure that it is in good working order and safe to use.
Rogers added: “Many of these accidents are simply ‘waiting to happen’, but they can be prevented through the inspection of welding equipment and the immediate reporting of such deficiencies in order that they may be rectified. WSS is the first and only supplier to address the issues over welding safety and offer an on board inspection service and it’s a role we are proud to play.”
WSS offers an extensive portfolio of Unitor branded welding equipment, cleaning and maintenance products, spares and gases. Its range of welding solutions represents a compact but complete solution to on board welding and related applications, the company claimed.
The product range is supported by a comprehensive welding safety handbook, WSSapproved Unitor training programmes at a number of maritime training centres and a global service network providing 24/7 support.