Wärtsilä to Optimize PLSVs of Sapura Brasil

Subsea services specialist Sapura Brazil has signed a five-year optimized maintenance agreement with Wärtsilä.

As per the agreement the the Finnish tech major will support Sapura’s fleet of six pipe-laying support vessels' (PLSV) operational performance and increase both its efficiency and reliability by accurately predicting maintenance requirements. This will also help lower operating costs.

The Wärtsilä solution includes asset diagnostics of the vessels’ main engines and thrusters to define the actual condition of the equipment. This enables a predictive maintenance strategy whereby servicing activities and overhauls are carried out according to the known condition of the equipment components, rather than on fixed scheduled intervals.

Wärtsilä’s Dynamic Maintenance Planning (DMP) solution thus optimizes the time between major maintenance work and increases the efficiency of the vessels’ operations. By reducing both scheduled and unscheduled downtime, greater utilization of the vessels will also be achieved.

“This agreement provides the customer with the benefits of the extensive experience and know-how we have, plus the latest predictive analytics technology. Wärtsilä is able to accurately analyze the need for maintenance on the ships’ engines and thrusters, and with our class-approved DMP concept we can achieve the flexibility and cost savings not possible with conventional manual-based maintenance planning," said André Bosman, Director, Business and Operations Support, Wärtsilä Marine.

Bosman added: "The necessary work and spare part requirements can be efficiently planned and scheduled in accordance with the Sapura vessels’ utilisation demand, and based on the true condition of the propulsion equipment.”  

“This project further tightens our relationship with Wärtsilä and will deliver significant benefits to our operations. It is important to have this type of preparedness, which is focused on prevention, since it allows us to feel more confident about the integrity and reliability of our equipment,” says Rogério Salbego, CEO of Sapura Brazil.

With this solution, Sapura Brazil will have access to the Wärtsilä Expertise Centers to obtain full technical support for its operations. The ships covered by the agreement are fitted with Wärtsilä 32 engines and Wärtsilä transverse, steerable and retractable thrusters.