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Viking acquires container firefighting system HydroPen

Viking Viking_HydroPen.jpg
L-R: Jesper Rosenfeldt Hansen (HydroPen CTO), Martin Winkel (HydroPen CEO), Henrik Uhd Christensen (VIKING CEO) and Gert Lillebæk (VIKING CFO).
Viking Life-Saving Equipment has bought the company HydroPen, owner of the HydroPen container firefighting solution.

The acquisition comes soon after CMA CGM bought HydroPen systems for 85 of its vessels, systems which will be installed by Viking. An exclusive distribution deal between the companies has been in place since the product's launch.

Attached to a ship’s hose and raised on a telescopic arm, HydroPen can be operated by a single crew member. Water pressure from the hose powers a nozzle which can drill through a container door before switching to a spray mode to apply water, foam or CO2 to a fire.

The companies said that there were nine major container ship fires in 2019 and ten in 2020. Container fires are causing more damage and becoming harder to extinguish as container ships have grown in capacity.

Lasse Boesen, Senior Product Manager, VIKING said: “Once crews familiarise themselves with HydroPen, there is no going back - and since its introduction, the system has already proven itself in live firefighting situations. Recently, HydroPen has also generated interest among land-based fire-fighting operators who have been quick to recognise its value.”

HydroPen was founded in 2016 by CEO Martin Winkel, and CTO and system inventor Jesper Rosenfeldt Hansen.