The Maritime Remanufacturing Network (MRN) has begun its first project: the remanufacturing of a more then 20-year-old ship thruster. The project will take place in a purpose-built remanufacturing laboratory set up by MRN-founder AEGIR-Marine.
Remanufacturing is the process of returning a used product or component back to its ‘as new’ performance specifications. Remanufacturing can significantly prolong the lifespan of products, and thus yields economic as well as environmental advantages.
This inaugural MRN project will be a case study using two identical tunnel thrusters. “We will be reconditioning one of these thrusters, bringing back its components to within the tolerances of its original manufacturer,” says AEGIR-Marine owner Ruud Muis. “We will remanufacture the second thruster, bringing it back to its ‘as new’ state – this is something that has never been done before in the maritime industry.”
AEGIR-Marine is a globally operating company that provides maintenance and repair services and spare parts for ship stern seal and propulsion systems. The company has decades of experience in repairing, overhauling and reconditioning jobs for its clients. “The maritime industry has been doing things for the same way for so long. But the time has come to take a serious look at the environmental impact of our activities,” Muis continues. “This means looking for ways to reduce our use of new resources and decrease the carbon footprint of production. Remanufacturing is a way to achieve this.”
The scientific foundation was researched by TU Delft and documented in an independent white paper. You can read this on the website www.mrn.world.
Established in Q1 2023, the MRN is a network of specialist companies and organizations that share knowledge and expertise on the subject of remanufacturing. In addition to addressing the technical challenges of remanufacturing, the MRN intends to increase awareness of the benefits of remanufacturing to the widest public and political audience possible. Furthermore, because remanufacturing is a new concept for the maritime industry, the MRN aims to produce results that are both scientifically sound and approved by Classification Societies.
