Wärtsilä to service Songa’s Cat D rigs

Finland’s Wärtsilä has signed a five-year technical management and services agreement with Songa Offshore for four Cat D type semi-submersible drilling rigs operating in the North Sea.

Wärtsilä said on Tuesday that the company would ensure optimal performance and maximum availability of the Wärtsilä engines and thrusters on board Songa’s drilling rigs, which operate in extremely harsh conditions.

Under the agreement, signed in December 2016, Wärtsilä will offer Songa dynamic maintenance planning and inspections, real-time condition monitoring of engines and thrusters as well as equipment analysis reports.

The agreement concerns four of the driller’s Cat D rigs: Songa Equinox, Songa Encourage, Songa Endurance, and Songa Enabler. Each rig is equipped with six Wärtsilä 32 engines. Two of the rigs have six Wärtsilä FS3500 steerable thrusters, and two have six Wärtsilä FS3510 steerable thrusters.

Cato Esperø, Sales Director of Wärtsilä Norway, said: “We are very excited about this first long-term service agreement with Songa. With our expertise, we ensure that the rigs can reach their full performance in the harsh environment of the North Atlantic basin.”

The agreement also covers solutions from the Wärtsilä Genius portfolio of digital services. With condition based maintenance (CBM), Wärtsilä continuously monitors the condition of the 32 engines installed on the rigs. The data is carefully analyzed by the Finnish company to determine service and maintenance needs.

Also, the agreement includes the Wärtsilä propulsion condition monitoring service (PCMS), which provides the customer with real-time advice and periodic reports concerning the condition of steerable thrusters, as well as information necessary for efficient maintenance planning.

Geir Arne Rolland, Head of Asset Maintenance for Songa Offshore, said: “The agreement helps Songa maximize the availability of the Wärtsilä engines and thrusters on our four Cat D rigs.

“Reliability of the engines and thrusters as well as real-time knowledge of the actual condition of the equipment are crucial to our operations, and this is also a part of Songa Offshore’s Class on Location strategy and continuous class project.”