Greece: Wartsila Inks Dynamic Maintenance Planning Contract for Six LNG Tankers

Wärtsilä has been awarded a five-year technical management contract, based on Dynamic Maintenance Planning, covering six LNG carriers. The contract has been placed by the operator of the vessels, Ceres LNG Services Ltd, a Greek ship management company and a major marine service provider in LNG shipping.

The five-year contract covers engine Dynamic Maintenance Planning for a total of twenty-four Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines in six LNG carriers. Dynamic Maintenance Planning offers owners a significant reduction in operating costs by applying predictive maintenance principles and by optimizing engine performance. With this order, a total of 80 Wärtsilä 50DF engines powering LNG carriers are under Wärtsilä Dynamic Maintenance Planning contracts.

“Wärtsilä’s Dynamic Maintenance Planning will enable our company and our customers to benefit from optimized availability, increased lifecycle efficiency, and reduced maintenance costs for our engines. Wärtsilä’s technology, global presence, and local support will help us to achieve this task,” says Sallis Theofanis, Ceres LNG Technical Manager.

Dynamic Maintenance Planning is based on the Condition Monitoring (CM) system developed by Wärtsilä. The engines’ operational data and parameters are continuously fed into a database and then evaluated at Wärtsilä’s CBM (Condition Based Maintenance) centre. The maintenance needs are thus predicted based on the actual condition of the equipment, while the optimal operational parameters can also be determined. The flexibility of this system – in conjunction with annual visits and inspections onboard the vessels, allows maintenance intervals to be amended according to actual need. Service work and spare parts availability can be arranged accordingly, which enables better service planning and the avoidance of unnecessary costs and downtime.

“With Dynamic Maintenance Planning we combine the latest in condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and efficient maintenance planning, with the latest in engine technology to achieve a complete system solution that maximises the availability of the engines without compromising reliability,” says Dimitris Mitsopoulos, Account Manager, Wärtsilä Services in Greece.

The most extensive service network

Services is one of the three Wärtsilä’s businesses alongside Ship Power and Power Plants. Wärtsilä Services offers services to both the global marine and energy markets and operates the most extensive service network in the industry. The company’s extensive portfolio of services includes spare parts and field services, as well as servicing of engines, propulsion systems, electrical and automation systems, and boilers. It also covers environmental services and solutions, upgrades and conversions, long-term agreements for engine and propulsion systems, as well as training services. Wärtsilä’s services business is also in the forefront of developing new service concepts to meet customer needs for optimal operational efficiency. Wärtsilä Services operates some 70 fully owned workshops and employs over 11,000 service professionals.

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Source: Wartsila , July 1, 2011.