"New Liferaft Station Vital to Efficient Passage Through Suez Canal" Says GM for WSS Egypt

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) has opened a new liferaft service station in Suez, Egypt, which will service vessels transiting the Suez Canal and Egypt’s main ports.

Russell Dinwoodie; General Manager WSS Egypt said: “With over 17,000 vessel transits per year in the Suez Canal, this new Liferaft Service Station is an important addition to our global network. Its’ strategic location will benefit ship operators by allowing them to utilise our full range of liferaft services whilst waiting to transit the Canal; avoiding costly deviations, uncertainty over service and supply levels and ultimately, making passage more efficient’.

Known as the ‘Highway to India’ the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea at Port Said and the Red Sea at Suez, making it a hugely important navigation waterway. Suez has four main ports: Adabeya; Sukhna; Elzayeteya and Port Tewfik.

In addition to liferaft servicing, the new service station will enable customers to carry out liferaft exchanges at the ports of Alexandria, Port Said, Damietta, Safaga and Nuwaiba.

The Liferaft Exchange Programme (LRE) from WSS offers global exchange of out of date liferafts for operational ones, allowing customers to take better control of costs and ensure that their vessels remain fully compliant. Since its launch, the LRE concept has proved to be a market shaper, and is fast replacing traditional liferaft ownership.