In view of the disruption generated by the COVID-19 pandemic on maritime networks, Lerwick Harbour remains open and operational. Lerwick Port Authority has responded well to the disruption, making full use of digital capacities and infrastructure in a remote-working world.
“Our systems are well-designed to cope with remote management. Everything is done fast and efficiently; we are in a better position now. Earlier this year we moved to Wärtsilä’s Smart Service portal/Smart Support, the online support is helpful and efficient,” explained Captain Alexander M. Simpson, Lerwick Harbour Master.
Response times to service calls are normally resolved in less than an hour.
Lerwick Harbour, in Shetland, is Britain’s most northerly commercial harbour, a subarctic archipelago located at the crossroads of the North Sea and North-East Atlantic.
We are a very strategic location for oil and gas production in the North Sea, handling many construction and supply vessels servicing existing and new fields. Keeping operations up and running during the pandemic has been of paramount importance.
Captain Alexander M. Simpson, Lerwick Harbour Master
"Around 100 cruise vessels visit every year, with the largest of these spanning up to 330 meters. Lerwick is a fishing port at heart and that continues to this day. The daily lifeline freight and Ro-Ro passenger routes we support are vitally important to the isles,” continued Captain Simpson.
Lerwick Port Authority has enjoyed Wärtsilä’s Smart Support service since April 2020 which has kept the business fully operational 24/7. The Wärtsilä Smart Support Centre remotely manages the health of Lerwick’s systems, proactively warning of system issues, logging and managing any service calls and assisting system users. All information is submitted to their dedicated Wärtsilä Account Manager, who carries out weekly remote system checks and supports regular dialogue with port operations, site engineers and senior VTMS management.
