How a Global Fleet Retrofit Proves the Power of Plug-and-Play

Scaling Sustainability Across Three Continents

When Tidewater needed to retrofit 16 vessels with ballast water treatment systems (BWTS) across the U.S., Africa, and Europe, they turned to an unlikely transatlantic partnership. GLO Marine and VMS Group Denmark didn’t just deliver—they redefined efficiency. By December 2024, the teams had deployed 16 BWTS systems, surveyed 14 vessels, and retrofitted 2 ships, all while cutting engineering hours by 25% and materials costs by 15% per vessel. The secret? A modular, multi-vessel approach that treats ship upgrades like LEGO kits.

“This wasn’t about reinventing the wheel—it was about making every wheel identical,” says Alin Pohilca, GLO Marine’s project lead. “Standardization unlocked economies of scale most operators only dream of.”

The EPCI Advantage

Delivered through an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) model, the project leveraged GLO’s class-approved engineering and prefabrication prowess alongside VMS Group’s propulsion and field support expertise. Prefab modules—built for five vessels before installation began—slashed dock time, while a shared digital engineering repository kept teams from Texas to Tanzania aligned. “You’re seeing the death of one-off ship modifications,” notes Palle Andersen of VMS Group. “Plug-and-play isn’t just for consumer tech anymore.”

Collaboration as a Competitive Edge

With 50+ professionals spanning three continents, the operation turned jurisdictional complexity into an asset. U.S.-based engineers optimized designs during European daytime, while African field crews implemented lessons from early retrofits in real time. The result? Twelve approved engineering packages in under a year—a pace unheard of for legacy maritime projects. As emissions regulations tighten globally, this collaboration blueprint may become the industry’s lifeline. The takeaway? In offshore sustainability, the fastest route to compliance is a shared playbook.