Member Article

Martek Marine supplies Chinese commercial fleet

Rotherham’s Martek Marine has won an export order to supply more than 100 marine defibrillators to Swire’s entire China Navigation fleet, as sales of the equipment increase rapidly.

The company provides ships around the world with safety and environmental monitoring systems. Sales of its automated external defibrillators (AEDs) this year are already up 475% on 2012, with over four months of the year remaining. These impressive figures come as the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) set an August deadline to have a marine defibrillator on every vessel, with crew trained in its use.

The China Navigation Company (CNCo) is the wholly owned, deep-sea ship owning and operating arm of the Swire group. It operates a global network of multi-purpose liner services and cargo ships.

Other recent global customers for Martek include Bernhard Schulte Management, Chemikalien Seatransport and Topaz Energy & Marine.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the world’s biggest killer, claiming over three million people globally every year. Using a defibrillator to restore a normal heart rhythm within the first three minutes can improve survival rates by up to 70%, so access to a defibrillator on board a ship can be a matter of life and death.

AED product manager, Ian Couldwell, said: “It is extremely encouraging to see the positive response to the new MLC legislation. Regulation like this puts these often-overlooked safety devices and procedures into the thoughts of shipping management. As each new level of compliance comes into legislation, the bar continues to be raised and the difficult, dangerous job of seafaring becomes a little bit safer.”

With a turnover of £10m, Martek exports to over 80 countries and recently reported profits of £1m. With continued growth has come increased recruitment at both Rotherham headquarters and its Singapore office.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Gatehouse .