The technology group Wärtsilä and Finnish ferry company Viking Line have signed an Optimised Maintenance Agreement for the Wärtsilä LNGPac system onboard passenger ferry Viking Grace. This is the first Optimised Maintenance agreement ever made for Wärtsilä LNGPac, a complete gas handling system for ships fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG). Viking Grace was the first passenger ferry to utilise LNG as a fuel source.

The agreement also includes Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) and online support for the Wärtsilä LNGPac system. The Optimised Maintenance agreement, signed in late 2017, enables the planning and scheduling of Viking Grace’s maintenance procedures to suit the ship owner’s business operations, thus improving their long-term cost predictability. It also increases performance reliability and maximises the vessel’s uptime, benefiting the vessel’s owner as well as its passengers.

A new feature for the LNGPac agreement is Wärtsilä’s Condition Based Maintenance system that gathers information on the average gas flow, the temperatures of the heat exchangers, the use of energy, and the pressure of the LNG pumps. The data helps in planning and scheduling the above-mentioned maintenance procedures that improve cost predictability and uptime.

Wärtsilä LNGPac is a complete fuel gas handling system for LNG fuelled ships. On Viking Grace, it comprises onboard liquid natural gas bunkering, two storage tanks, and handling equipment with related safety and automation systems that have been developed by Wärtsilä.

“Environmental considerations are, along with the need to optimise operational efficiency, high on the agenda of Viking Line,” says Ulf Hagström, Senior Vice President, Marine Operations & NB at Viking Line Oyj. “Wärtsilä is a forerunner in dual-fuel and other environmentally sound technology and has repeatedly shown its excellence in technical assistance and service for Viking Line and Viking Grace. With this agreement, we will be able to utilise the full potential of Wärtsilä’s knowledge and know-how.”

In addition to the Wärtsilä LNGPac, Viking Grace has four Wärtsilä 50DF main engines running on LNG and the propulsion systems, all maintained by Wärtsilä since the vessel went into operation in 2013. In February 2018, Wärtsilä and Viking Line agreed to extend the Optimised Maintenance agreement for another five years.

Viking Grace can accommodate 2,800 passengers, and it sails between Turku, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden in the Baltic Sea.

Source: Wärtsilä Corporation

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