Traditionally, service and commissioning work required specialists to travel to shipyards or offshore vessels, often involving long-distance flights. Remote support makes it possible to carry out many of these tasks without sending personnel on site. Brunvoll now provides remote troubleshooting on a weekly basis, and in some cases daily, particularly within thruster control systems. Several vessels have even been commissioned entirely through remote access supported by local resources, such as recent newbuilds in Türkiye, avoiding multiple international trips.
Each avoided trip represents a direct reduction in emissions and cost associated with flights, ground transport, and accommodations. These service-related journeys form part of Brunvoll’s Scope 3 emissions and reducing them contributes meaningfully to the company’s climate ambitions.
Faster problem-solving also helps customers reduce their own operational emissions and cost by avoiding delays, inefficiencies, or drifting on standby while waiting service personnel.
For customers, the most immediate benefit of remote support is shorter response times. Design engineers and service engineers can log on directly to a vessel’s systems from the office, run analyses, diagnose issues, and in many cases carry out minor fixes remotely. This allows problems to be resolved while the vessel remains in operation, without waiting to reach port. The result is improved operational uptime: an important factor for both commercial efficiency and environmental performance. A vessel that operates reliably avoids unnecessary fuel consumption linked to suboptimal system behaviour or unplanned hold times. Remote support is used broadly across Brunvoll’s control system portfolio, with particularly high frequency within propulsion and thruster control systems. More complex systems such as DP (Dynamic Positioning) also benefit from regular remote updates and follow-up from Brunvoll’s technical team. As digital access expands, support has become a scalable service approach that can grow without increasing the environmental footprint at the same rate as traditional field service.
Early detection of technical issues is one of the less visible but highly valuable aspects of remote support. By identifying deviations sooner, Brunvoll’s experts can guide crews or local representatives to resolve problems before they escalate. This reduces wear on components, prevents unnecessary replacements, and supports longer system lifetimes. This is an important dimension of circular economy thinking within maritime operations. Fewer component shipments and repairs also reduce the environmental impacts and cost associated with logistics and spare-part consumption. For Brunvoll’s internal operations, remote support also leads to more efficient use of personnel resources. Expert time is spent where it creates the most value, rather than on travel, waiting time, or on-site troubleshooting that could have been handled remotely. This efficiency supports both cost-effective operations and lower environmental impact.
As the number of vessels equipped with Brunvoll systems grows, remote support ensures that we can continue delivering high-quality service without proportionally increasing travel or emissions. It enables Brunvoll to support around 80 vessels with condition monitoring, as well as additional vessels equipped with various control systems, without the need for constant on-site presence. This scalable model aligns well with the broader maritime shift toward digitalised, low-impact operations. Remote support has therefore evolved from a convenient service tool into a key component of Brunvoll’s sustainability performance. It directly reduces emissions and customer cost, promotes energy-efficient vessel operations, enhances system longevity, supports safe working environments, and strengthens cybersecurity. As Brunvoll continues developing digital services, remote support will remain a cornerstone in delivering reliable, environmentally responsible solutions for operators worldwide.
