An international leader in load testing solutions, Crestchic has recently completed another major order for the world-leading South Korean shipbuilding sector with the delivery of six containerised 6000kVA resistive-reactive 450v 60Hz loadbanks to one of Korea’s premier shipbuilders. This takes the UK manufacturer, operating globally from its headquarters at Burton-on-Trent in the UK, past the 100 container mark for the Korean shipbuilding industry – currently the world’s largest – alone.
The need for reliable power supplied in the marine environment is paramount, with a loss of navigation or steering capability potentially catastrophic, as many vessels built today are all-electric. A single power network is supplied by a primary energy source, which can consist of multiple units of diesel generators or gas turbines. Whether a small ferry, cruise liner, offshore platform or super-tanker, the testing of a vessel’s electrical system is vital to ensure safe sea trials and on-going operations, by simulating the different loads and the way they interact with each other.
Through its industry-leading loadbank solution, Crestchic provides a reliable means to commission, test and service all types of marine power sources, including generators, turbines and batteries. The company manufactures a wide range of AC and DC loadbanks for both resistive-only and resistive-reactive applications. Loadbanks vary in size from 30kW to 6250kVA.
Crestchic’s loadbanks are used to undertake such testing by many of the world’s leading shipbuilders, ship repairers and offshore platform commissioning organisations. The company can provide packages of 50MVA and above, including step down transformers, to stimulate the most arduous conditions that might be encountered in real marine environments.
Of rugged construction, Crestchic loadbanks offer a number of advantages to the shipbuilding sector when compared to old style water tank testing. For example, they are easy to move around the yard and the resistive-reactive machines can be used to test alternators, providing an impressive collection of data, unlike water tank testing which is resistive only, often without data capture capabilities.
Jim Gould, Crestchic founder and managing director, says: “Working with the Korean shipbuilding industry over the past 12 years has provided significant growth, as all the major Korean yards have come to favour Crestchic’s containerised product quality, easy-to-use software and our proven track record with other major yards, globally. These include shipyards in the UK, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Spain, Romania and Italy.”