$29 million hydro-pneumatic fender contract with US Navy
Awarded by the US Naval Surface Warfare Centre, Carderock Division (NSWCCD), the contract is for the procurement of Yokohama hydro-pneumatic fenders and the associated installation, support, shipping and travel.
The contract was awarded in September 2012 and is expected to be completed by September 2017, with the work being undertaken at the Fendercare Marine UK head office in Seething, Norfolk.
Louis Di Stefano, from the US Naval Surface Warfare Centre, said;
"Fendercare Marine has been the world leader in providing ISO 17357 hydro-pneumatic fenders to the US Navy for the past 15 years. To date we have had zero defects with fenders provided through Fendercare Marine and they have been a vital part of assuring our US submarine fleet's mooring capabilities continue positively throughout the world."
Yokohama began manufacturing floating pneumatic fenders in 1958, since when more than 60,000 have been supplied into ship-to-quay and ship-to-ship applications worldwide. ISO 17357 is now firmly established within the marine industry as the international standard for the manufacture, testing and performance of pneumatic rubber fenders.
Over the years Fendercare Marine has discovered that although other manufacturers may be claiming full compliance with this standard, many do not in fact do so for reasons ranging from incomplete or incorrectly conducted tests and inappropriate material specifications, to certification being out of date or non-existent. Not least for these reasons, the company has been proud to supply Yokohama Fenders for many years.
Fendercare Marine managing director, Eric Plane, commented;
"Everyone at Fendercare Marine is delighted to have secured this contract. This is testament to our ability to provide both high quality, reliable products and the required levels of customer service that goes with it. As you can appreciate, these things do not just happen but are a direct result of huge amounts of hard work both in respect of the contract submission itself and ensuring that we meet the extremely stringent technical requirements demanded by the US Navy."
A member of James Fisher and Sons plc, Fendercare Marine supplies navies across the world with products from ship-to-quay, on-board and submarine berthing solutions, as well as shipboard and jetty equipment which are all independently certified by the world's leading independent, inspection bodies.
