Royston completes challenging engine overhaul

Built in 2006, the Solstad owned 14,506gt deepwater offshore construction support vessel was in Hartlepool to load cables that it was scheduled to lay on the Asgard field offshore Angola. However, water leaks from the exhaust seat of a cylinder head on one of the ship’s four Wärtsilä engines led ship’s staff and Wärtsilä engineers to immediately identify a need to inspect and pressure-test other cylinders heads. It was concluded that their condition meant that each of the 48 cylinder heads on all of the ship’s engines needed to be overhauled before resuming work off Angola. This was seen as essential if the risk of costly problems and contractual delays were to be avoided when operating offshore.

An engineering team was quickly assembled by Royston who, working in cooperation with the on-board Wärtsilä service engineer, devised a work plan that would enable as many cylinder heads as possible to be removed and serviced while the ship was docked in Hartlepool. With 24-hour working initiated at Royston’s workshop in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the company serviced and overhauled all of the cylinder heads for two of the ship’s main engines. The result was that 12-days after the problem had been identified, a total of 32 cylinder heads had been removed, cleaned, machined and re-installed so that the engines were returned to full operational condition.

With the Normand Installer committed to a tight work schedule off Angola, two Royston engineers sailed along with the Wärtsilä service engineer to Las Palmas where they were able to resume the overhaul of the cylinder heads on the remaining engines. This was achieved in a workshop created on-board with the use of equipment supplied by Royston. It was thereby possible to machine the cylinder head valves and valve seats and to use a cylinder head cleaning tank and pressure testing equipment while at sea.

At Las Palmas, the team on board was joined by three more Royston engineers, enabling the introduction of a 24-hour shift pattern. This was maintained throughout the remainder of the voyage and ensured that every cylinder head on the ship’s four engines had been removed, serviced and replaced before it anchored off Abijan, Cote d’Ivoire.

Royston is headquartered in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK and has facilities in Perth, Australia that give its service support teams a global reach. As a result Royston says its engineers can support any type or age of diesel engine, in any location.