Wärtsilä, the marine industry's leading solutions and services provider, has been awarded a long-term service agreement by global cruise operator Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. The contract covers seven Princess Cruise Lines vessels, each of which is powered by Wärtsilä 46 common-rail engines. In total, the engines represent 270 MW of power.

The broad scope of services covers technical management and logistics support, spare parts for scheduled engine maintenance, workshop services, an on-board technical advisor during major overhauls, annual training of the engine room crew, continuous condition monitoring of equipment and reporting, and bi-monthly technical visits to each vessel.

"This agreement optimises the maintenance schedules for these seven vessels, and provides the customer with technical expertise at a fixed budget price. In particular, Wärtsilä's deep know-how in the field of common-rail technology was a key factor in the award of this contract," says Andy Edwards, Vice President, Strategic Accounts.

Tailor-made agreements with a wider scope of services that extend beyond the traditional standard are increasingly becoming more common in the marine industry. Wärtsilä is an experienced operator, with a proven track record in operation and maintenance services. Globally, more than 16 GW of generating capacity in both marine and land based installations is covered by Wärtsilä's Operations & Maintenance and other service agreements.

Wärtsilä is the market leader in common-rail technology for electronically-controlled low-speed marine engines. This technology provides a high degree of flexibility in engine settings to give lower fuel consumption, very low minimum running speeds, smokeless operation at all running speeds, and outstanding control of exhaust emissions. Furthermore, the integrated redundancy of the engines ensures high reliability.

Wärtsilä Services - the industry's most extensive service network

Wärtsilä 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 broad portfolio includes environmental services and solutions, the servicing of engines, propulsion systems, electrical and automation systems and boilers, as well as field services and spare parts. It also covers upgrades and conversions, long-term agreements for engine and propulsion systems, as well as training services. Wärtsilä Services is at the forefront in 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.