Service agreement for optimum availability and operational economy

In its system integrator role Wärtsilä will provide maintenance planning, condition & performance monitoring, co-ordination and supply of technical services, parts and service work for five 165,000 m³ LNG vessels equipped with Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines, over a five year period.

“For Mærsk LNG, this service agreement means improved levels of certainty regarding servicing of the main engines on our LNG vessels. With this monitoring system in place, maintenance work can be proactive,” said Claus H. Thomsen, director, Mærsk LNG. “The contract also guarantees us stable maintenance costs for at least the next five years.”

Wärtsilä claims extensive experience in providing long-term operational and management services for about 1000 similar engines installed in ships and land-based power plants all over the world. The company regards shipping as a somewhat distinct market compared with land-based engines, and Wärtsilä says it is therefore important to create concepts fully adapted to the marine industry.

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Mærsk LNG operates a fleet of seven LNG vessels, with one more on order for delivery in early 2010. Mærsk LNG is part of the A.P. Møller – Mærsk Group, which employs about 117,000 people in some 130 countries around the world. The A.P. Møller – Mærsk Group fleet includes container vessels, tankers, supply ships and drilling rigs. Besides shipping, the group is engaged in exploration for and production of oil and gas and retail activities.

Operational advantages

Wärtsilä says that it is able to offer proactive and dynamic maintenance programmes known as DMP (dynamic maintenance planning). These programmes include the planning and scheduling of engine maintenance based on online monitoring of each engine’s mechanical condition, performance, system efficiency data and other indicators. As data is collected and monitored daily, the company says that probable sources of faults can be identified before the problem occurs.

“Wärtsilä’s service agreements including DMP are mainly about risk management in vessel operation,” says Bo Lindy Jensen, general manager, strategic account management, for Wärtsilä in Denmark. “By providing this service we are supporting our customer’s business.”

“As a designer and manufacturer of marine and power plant gas engines, Wärtsilä also has the best possible know-how regarding how they should be maintained,” says Jensen. “Long-term service contracts provide us with a continuous flow of information on each engine’s operational characteristics throughout its life-cycle. Combined with our experience, this information helps us develop even better products and service solutions.”

The Wärtsilä DMP system is claimed to offer clear potential for reducing maintenance costs. Intervals between overhauls are flexible based on actual condition and operational risk profile, so the company says that the need for unplanned maintenance is reduced, up-time is increased and engine efficiency can be optimised.