Fredrik Jessing from the Swedish company add-maritime and the shipmanager of the Swedish vessel T/S Gunilla, have written a very interesting piece about his trip to the Caterpilllar's European Distribution Center in Grimbergen, Belgium in order to pick up a rotor - on a sunday!
"Being a ship manager some days are not like others. The other weekend I got to do six European flights in less than two days. As part owner of the Swedish firm add-maritime, specialized in all possible and not possible ships' services, one of the ships we manage is The T/S Gunilla, Sweden's largest sailing vessel, carrying students in secondary school on a yearly route around the Atlantic.
The students spend sixty days on board each year during a three year period. The purpose being to visit abroad instead of just reading about foreign cultures. They vary their time between handling the boat, studying and during the normal six day stops looking at sights, interacting with local students and experiencing the local culture.
The 25th of September the 44 students and 11 crew arrived Cork, Ireland, the second last stop before the students were scheduled to fly home from Càdiz being replaced by new eager students arriving from Sweden. For student exchanges on the European cost we normally charter an airplane, making date changes rather difficult. Accordingly it was with some urgency I learned about some rough weather passing south of Ireland on the scheduled departure day.
The vessel, although equipped with a Caterpillar 3304 for propulsion and two Caterpillar 3306 gensets for general services and powering the bowthruster, doesn't due to the rigging make much progress in strong head wind. Discussing with the Captain we decided to postphone the departure for two days hoping to make up the time as the forecast promised fair winds over the weekend. By noon on the Friday everything was set and our Chief Engineer powers up the main engine and the second genset for departure.
Disaster, the genset is not producing any power. Although we only need both while using the bow thruster it isn't considered safe practice to depart with one out of order, in reality crossing the Bay of Biscay without any backup for the general services. Receiving the phone call from the Captain I subconsciously start calculating further delays and the chance to make the charter plane in Spain. However safety first, through out agent it only takes a short while until the local Caterpillar service team is on board. They turn out to be both service minded and knowledgeable. By lunch time next day we are sure we need a new rotor 4P3468.
The top priority now shifts to get hold of the spare quickest possible. Knowing that the weather was supposed to get worse in the beginning of the week every hour was valuable. Working both with the Irish firm and our Swedish contact Pon-Power we soon learned that the only available rotor was at the central storage in Grimbergen, Belgium. Sunday being an impossible day getting anything moved with the normal courier services time was running out. After a while the Irish, after some checking, believes they can get the part moved to Schipol by Sunday morning. I make a quick decision to cancel my evening plans and catch the evening plane from Gothenburg to Amsterdam. Having arrived at the airport hotel I check my emails learning that neither the Irish nor the Swedish firm has managed to get hold of anyone in Grimbergen yet.
Sunday morning I am told that the only chance is to go to Grimbergen, talk to the guard and have him calling a Danish manager enabling the guard to release my spare. Said and done, a short flight for Brussels and in to a taxi trying to explain where I want to go in French. The taxi ride itself deserves a story of its own, getting stuck in a field. Finally at the gate by the warehouse I realize how huge it is, but it seems deserted, what else to expect a Sunday morning. I try the bell and get no response, almost giving up I push the gate, its unlocked. Walking over the parking lot into the building I see no one. After a while a very polite guard arrives on a bike asking my business, "looking for you" is my quick reply.
Following him to his station by the entrance I learn that they are having a scheduled power outage, replacing some equipment in the building during the weekend. Its almost surreal at his station, no phones, black screens and black panels. I now understand why the Swedes and the Irish haven't gotten through. The man apologizes, but without a computer he cannot locate the part. Maybe in the afternoon...
Feeling disappointed, being so close still so far away I decide to go looking for lunch and return in a few hours. Right then two other employees walk in wondering why I'm there on a Sunday during a power outage. After connecting them to my Danish contact, using a laptop to an off site server they believe they know where the part is located. Equipped with flash lights they head inside to find it. After 15 minutes they return with a small box of 17 kilos.
Things starting to look brighter it isn't long before I am in another taxi for the airport. Flying Brussels-London-Cork was rather uneventful not counting the security checks. In one of them, I forget which, the x-ray display actually started flashing when the rotor, mostly copper passed through. However after some extra attention I am on board the vessel about 8pm. The repairmen and our engineers get right to it, and by 2 am everything is working and The Gunilla departs. For me it its only to make my way back to Gothenburg, this time via Amsterdam. A little more then a week later the vessel has made it to Spain in good time, even managing to catch up most of the delay, allowing the students to catch the plane.
Myself I am stuck at my desk, kind of wanting to do it all over again."
