Wärtsilä has signed a maintenance agreement covering two offshore well intervention vessels owned by Norway based Siem Offshore. The five-year agreement will provide the maintenance required to reduce the vessels’ fuel consumption and emissions by utilizing digital technology to provide real-time monitoring and support. The agreement also covers the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions-abatement systems installed with the engines.
“We remain committed to minimizing the impact of our activities on the natural environment everywhere we operate. Protection of the environment is an essential element of operational planning and execution,” said Bernt Omdal, CEO of Siem Offshore. “Our long-term targets and global improvement plan is to minimize impact on the natural environment, promote energy efficiency, reduce carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions, prevent unnecessary waste, and prepare for future challenges and opportunities through industry collaboration and leadership.”
Included in the agreement is Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight predictive maintenance solution. Expert Insight is a service that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced diagnostics to monitor equipment and systems in real-time, spot anomalies, foresee potential problems, and enable rapid reaction accordingly, the company said.
Also included is Wärtsilä’s data driven maintenance concept. Data driven maintenance enables the ships’ crews to conduct condition inspections using borescope optical instruments. The digital images provided will be sent to Wärtsilä’s technical experts for evaluation, and in most cases will lengthen the time required between engine overhauls. “Data driven maintenance is right up there with decarbonization on the list of the hottest topics in the maritime industry today – no surprise given that it promises owners and operators cost savings and greater flexibility,” said Tage Klockars, general manager of agreement sales at Wärtsilä Marine Power.
The two vessels, the Siem Helix 1 and Siem Helix 2, each operate with eight Wärtsilä 32 engines. The ships are operating in Brazil’s offshore oil fields.
“Lifecycle support is a key element of our strategy, and our advanced digital and data-based maintenance solutions are central to enabling optimal operational performance,” said Henrik Wilhelms, director of agreement sales at Wärtsilä Marine Power. “The benefit of being able to efficiently monitor the equipment and support customers remotely is enhanced even more today, since due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions, in-person visits by service engineers can be difficult to arrange. Since our engineers need to travel less, their carbon footprint is reduced, while at the same time we can optimize the performance of the asset, so it is really a double win.”
