SVITZER Tugs Continue to Benefit From 29 Year Old SOLASAFES

South Shields based Solar Solve Marine has chalked up another success with global towage operator SVITZER.  Last month, the internationally famous manufacturer of SOLASOLV Type Approved anti-glare roller sunscreens, supplied shipsets of its SOLASAFE product, with Gold solar film, to 3 Svitzer tugs in Angola.

This month they made an amazing discovery just 40 miles from their South Shields based facility, when two team members travelled down to Teesport, where Svitzer’s UK headquarters is located, to install roller sunscreens on 2 of their tugs based there.

There were 9 new SOLASAFE roller screens to be installed at the wheelhouse windows of each vessel; FIERY CROSS and PHOENIX CROSS.  They were installed without problem and the guys from Solar Solve noticed that on each vessel, the 4 SOLASAFE screens that were already in use at other windows, were quite old and so they offered to replace the pull cords, pulleys, push buttons and cleats, for free.

Curious to know how old the screens actually were, because they were working fine, they took one down and were amazed at what they read from the identification labels.

It was Item 6 of 8; Ordered by Richard Dunston of Hessle, 1060mm wide x 1600mm drop; LHS taper; it was inspected and checked by Julie Lightfoot (now Solar Solve’s Managing Director) on 6 August 1993.

Richard Dunston built both tugs and they must have been 2 of the last ships built there because the yard closed in 1994.

John Lightfoot, MBE, Solar Solve’s chairman, commented,

“Apparently, when the 9 new screens were ordered for each vessel, it was decided that the 4 existing screens, which will be 30 years old next year, were perfectly adequate and did not need to be replaced.  Our guys took a photo with the old and new screens in use and the old ones do work well”

“That is not only a great credit to Solar Solve and our SOLASAFE product, it is a huge compliment to the Svitzer employees who have worked on the vessel over the last 3 decades and obviously treated the screens with great care.

Full details of Solar Solve Ltd and its full product range are available from the company website at www.solasolv.com, email info(at)solasolv.com or by telephone on +44 191 454 8595.