It’s a cliché as old as the hills but hard work does pay off. For engines and generators company WaterMota Romania based in Constanta, this is certainly the case.
The company was formed in 2008 and has now reached a turnover of more than 1.25m Euros against a background of a quiet shipbuilding market and reduced port traffic in Romania over the last few years. “We have entered the market well,” said MD Bogdan Moise. “We are involved in discussions with many shipyards and companies.
“When we entered the market, there were two suppliers, Volvo Penta and Caterpillar. We have now taken 50% of their share.” He added: “It shows that you need to work if you want to get somewhere. It’s not a lottery. The main aim has been to get established in the market which we have achieved. Now we need to keep it going.
“We now have a steady income from repowerings and new builds and are becoming more focused on providing parts. We now have a good population of engines in the market.”
One the latest orders is 21 Baudouin diesel generators – 85kVA and 105kVA – for nine tugs based in Constanta ports.
“In Constanta port there are three towing companies, COREMAR, Canal Sea Services and Black Sea Services,” said Mr Moise. “They have made a joint venture and now working together is more profitable, therefore they have decided to re-invest part of the profit in modernizing the fleet.”
The high speed generators, which are direct fuel injection and turbo charged, replace outdated Romanian made MB generators, says Mr Moise, with Baudouin chosen for its simple design, low fuel consumption and favourable operation costs. Seven of the tugs have twin 1200hp engines while two have twin 2400hp engines installed together with Baudouin GEB85 (85kVA @ 380V/50Hz) and GEB150 (150kVA @ 380V/50Hz) generators.
“The installation process was very fast and after a few adjustments made in the main switchboard, the equipments were successfully commissioned,” he said. “The operators are very satisfied with the decision to change to Baudouin; the crew on board is more confident in going on sea and the manoeuvres in the port are safer.”
He added: “Initially seagoing vessels were not our main goal but we have now entered the tug market and with around half of the tugboats in Constanta ports having auxiliary engines supplied by us.”
A second new order is for a Hyundai SeasAll L500 for new build trawling fishing boat designed for the Black Sea rapana conch also known as Black Sea topshell. Along with Kort Propulsion WaterMota SRL has supplied the complete propulsion package to the 14.99m boat which is due to be launched later this year.
The propulsion package has been designed for the boat to achieve three knots trawling and 11 to 12 knots cruising speed. “The shells are of Asian origin and they populated the Black Sea being brought in ships ballast tanks before segregated ballast was introduced. “Having no natural enemy, the population increased significantly and now is fished for its meat,” said Mr Moise.
This is the first L500 – which entered the European market last year – sold by WaterMota SRL. The electronic unit injection system delivers 500PS and 232kg•m of torque from the 12.7 litre in-line six cylinder engine. It is designed for stable performance at high load and to respond well to sudden load changes. The engine is rated for uninterrupted and unlimited use at full power and is suitable for commercial vessels and pleasure craft.
By Katina Read
http://www.maritimejournal.com/news101/power-and-propulsion/watermota-romania-continues-expansion