Ageing fleets are forcing OEMs to rethink supply chains

Finding the gap

The harder lesson was where not to compete. An agile, low-volume operation cannot match the price of OEM volume supply chains. Pelagus therefore narrowed its focus to the one area where there is a genuine gap: legacy parts.

“Ageing assets are a real trend and it is only going to grow,” said Mr Madsen. “OEMs need to start thinking about how they adapt their supply chain models to support this, and how new manufacturing technologies can build resilience without compromising quality or intellectual property.”

By Pelagus’s estimate, around half of offshore installations are over 40 years old, with maritime assets following a similar pattern. Owners increasingly favour life extension rather than the retrofits that manufacturers would prefer to sell. This leaves OEMs with two unattractive options: store obsolete parts for decades at significant cost; or produce them to order through supply chains not designed for runs of one to three units. Pelagus focuses on this long tail, with pilot projects across pump, engine and valve manufacturers.

The economics are most compelling for out-of-production parts. “If you do not have the casting pattern because the part was produced 20 years ago and the supplier has gone out of business, that pattern alone can cost up to 30,000 dollars and take six months,” Mr Madsen said. “We 3D print the tooling in a matter of a week, then cast conventionally. This can deliver cost savings of around 70 per cent and lead time reductions of more than 90 per cent.”

Who carries the risk?

Liability is what disciplines the model. The client is always the OEM, never the vessel manager. Pelagus qualifies each part to the manufacturer’s specification, manages supply chain onboarding, certifies its suppliers and issues certificates of conformity, with additional inspection for higher criticality components.

DNV has been involved from the outset through a quality assurance framework built to international standards and a Print Passport service that vets each production partner and tracks every part. ABS is also involved. The manufacturer ultimately puts its name to the product and includes it within its standard service level agreements. Pelagus’s liability is that of a conventional supplier: limited to the value of the part, not its design or performance in service.

“We do not pursue reverse engineering,” Mr Madsen said. “You can have the most sophisticated scanner, but it cannot capture a tolerance of plus or minus five hundredths of a millimetre or the material certification behind the part. The OEM holds that information. We are experts in manufacturing processes, not design.” Where a manufacturer no longer exists, Pelagus partners with an alternative manufacturer, rather than make assumptions.

The market extends beyond maritime. Oil and gas, added in 2025, accounts for roughly 30 per cent of customers but about half of sales value, due to the cost of subsea components. Aerospace and automotive still lead in additive manufacturing adoption, followed by oil and gas, while shipping lags behind. Japanese and Korean manufacturers remain among the most cautious, although Pelagus parts are already in use on their assets.

The real obstacle

The biggest challenge is conceptual. “We are not selling 3D printing or digital inventories. We are selling a supply chain model,” Mr Madsen said. “For established OEMs, that requires rethinking sourcing strategy, and supply chains take time to change.” The aim is to overcome this at scale, enabling manufacturers to offer on-demand production across large sections of their back catalogues, with initial reference cases expected by early next year.

“Eventually we could move away from selling to OEMs and instead offer OEM portfolios directly to end users, telling a manager: here are your main OEMs, you have an on-demand option for most of them, and you can keep your vessels running for another five to 10 years,” said Mr Madsen, “without giving up quality or intellectual property.”