Engine overhaul poses time and logistic challenges

The dredger, owned by Jan De Nul Group, is powered by three Deutz SBV8M540 engines, each rated 3,296kW at 600rpm, which had been in operation for more than 24,000 hours.

Timelines were extremely tight and logistics for the project were no less challenging. Despite all the difficulties, this project proved the value of the service agreement between Denis Diesel Services and Goltens Dubai, as the experts from both companies managed to complete the task within a demanding schedule of three weeks.

The day after Leonardo Da Vinci berthed in Al Duqm shipyard in Oman, a team consisting of a senior supervisor, a foreman and six technicians boarded the vessel. They worked around the clock together with four service engineers from Denis Diesel Services to perform the engine dismantling works.

The engine components were transported from the shipyard in Oman to the Goltens’ workshop in Dubai. This was a long journey with a total distance of 1,500km and involving two delays due to customs processes between borders. All of the engine components were completely refurbished and dispatched in less than one week.

Only 18 days after the start of the project, Goltens and Denis Diesel Services handed three fully operational engines back to the vessel, enabling it to return to operation with full efficiency.

This project was part of Goltens’ continuing cooperation with Denis Diesel Services. The two companies work together on a number of projects, in particular those related to large diesel overhauls on dredgers. Most of this work takes place in the Middle East and South East Asia.

“We tend to combine our resources in a way that is optimal for the customers both in terms of competence, time and cost efficiencies, which is particularly important in the dredger business, where downtime is particularly expensive in the middle of an assignment,” says Goltens president of worldwide service Paul Friedberg.