2012 is an exciting year for Vanguard in more ways than one. Since its establishment in 2003, Vanguard has worked its way from the little red dot on the map to the international market.
Today, Vanguard supplies more than 120 lifeboats a year, to a wide range of clientele such as ENSCO, Petronas, Petrobras, Chevron, Sembawang Shipyard, Jurong Shipyard etc.
The maritime scene in Singapore is vibrant and energetic, with a lethal combination of strategic position and the highly sophisticated port facilities and shipyards.
The Singapore’s government has also in place stringent rules and regulations on quality of products offered by Singapore’s companies.
Taking all these into consideration, Vanguard has found home in Singapore; a place that offers required support and resources and more importantly, with high expectations on quality that Vanguard is always ready to meet.
As Singapore’s leading manufacturer of lifeboats and rescue boats, Vanguard has a huge mission to fulfil as Singapore’s representative in the safety equipment sector, particularly for lifeboats.
Unlike many other industries, it is a calling to be in a ‘life saving’ industry as the top objective, regardless of the economy, is to provide reliable, quality products that will save lives. After all, lifeboats are the only hope of the survivors involved in accidents on sea. With this firmly etched in mind, Vanguard has invested substantial amount
into research and design since its beginning as it challenges herself to be the solution provider of problems that plague the industry.
Dive support vessels and hyperbaric self-propelled lifeboats
On 6 November 1991, Resolution A.692 (17), guidelines and specifications for hyperbaric evacuation systems, was adopted by International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Resolution A.692 (17) was developed with the purpose of ‘promoting the safety of all divers in saturation and achieving a standard of safety for divers…’ and it also served to satisfy chapter 3 of the Code of Safety for Diving Systems (resolution A.536 (13)) as amended by Resolution A.583 (14) in respect of United Kingdom ships.
Several hyperbaric evacuation methods were identified under Resolution A.692 (17) for ‘evacuating divers in an emergency and that the suitability of the various options for a safe hyperbaric evacuation depends on a number of factors including geographical area of operation….’
One of the methods made available to diving contractors is the use of hyperbaric self-propelled lifeboats.
New player in the field
Over the past two years, Vanguard took upon herself to devise a solution for Dive Support Vessels (DSVs). For a long time, there was monopoly in the supply for Hyperbaric lifeboats, which is compulsory to be fitted on all DSVs. As in all monopolization, there is hardly any power in the consumers in deciding on the prices and quality due to the lack of competition… well, until Vanguard took a leap of faith and entered the market to offer the solution of comparable quality at a competitive pricing with a faster delivery schedule.
Fruit of her labour
After many months of research and trial and error, Vanguard unravelled the secret in manufacturing a Hyperbaric lifeboat. With a skilful and experienced team of engineers guiding and overseeing the entire process, Vanguard produced her first Hyperbaric
lifeboat, also known the Self-Propelled Hyperbaric Lifeboat (SPHLB).
A unique feature of Vanguard’s SPHLB is its chamber that can fit 12, 15 or 18 men. In December 2011, Vanguard’s SPHLB has
successfully gone through the type approval tests and is now waiting to be issued the ABS class approval certificate.
In December 2011, Vanguard’s SPHLB has successfully gone through the type approval tests and is now waiting to be issued the ABS class approval certificate.
‘Never say die’
Companies like Vanguard are what keep the industry moving and evolving. With all these innovation and research and design effort keeping the industry busy, there is only one way for everyone – to keep moving forward.
In industry like this, it takes more than passion – it is about having a heart for the seafarers and caring for their safety like one would care for their own. Vanguard- always keeping the seafarers safe at sea.