Products & services

Wärtsilä and Viking Line in optimised Maintenance agreement 

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 19 April 2018 19 April 2018

The Helsinki based technology group Wärtsilä and Viking Line, a Finnish ferry company, 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. Additionally, Wärtsilä extends its existing Optimised Maintenance agreement for Viking Line’s Viking Grace ferry for another five years.

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 the 2013 built 56,575 gross ton cruise ferry 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 Wärtsilä LNGPac, Wärtsilä has delivered four Wärtsilä 50DF main engines running on LNG, the transverse bow and stern tunnel thrusters, two stainless steel fixed pitch, built-up main propellers with complete propeller shaft lines and environmentally sound shaft line seal systems to Viking Grace. Since Viking Grace was taken into operation in 2013, Wärtsilä has been in charge of its maintenance. In February 2018, Wärtsilä and Viking Line agreed on the extension of the Optimised Maintenance agreement for Viking Grace, covering both CBM and online support, for another five years.

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

 

 

 

Scanship awarded clean ship system contract by Fincantieri for four Viking Ocean Cruises newbuildings 

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 10 April 2018 10 April 2018

Scanship Holding ASA has through its subsidiary Scanship AS, been awarded a contract by the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for the supply of total clean ship system for four Viking Ocean Cruises newbuildings. The newbuilds will enter service from 2021 to 2023 and Scanship will deliver equipment starting 2019 till 2021.

The Scanship contract includes a total clean ship system with garbage handling, waste incineration, food waste processing and advanced wastewater purification. The advanced wastewater purification system will treat all grey water streams and the black water to the highest industry standard to date being MEPC 227(64) with chapter 4.2 including nitrogen and phosphorus removal.

"These will be the seventh, eight, ninth and tenth newbuilds with Scanship total clean ship system built by Fincantieri for Viking Ocean Cruises. We are thrilled to continue our long-time cooperation with Fincantieri and Viking Ocean Cruises for environmental sustainability at sea" says CEO Henrik Badin in a statement.

Telenor Maritime to supply mobile ecosystem on Stena Line passenger ships 

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 10 April 2018 10 April 2018

Telenor Maritime, the global maritime mobile operator, expand the long-term partnership with Stena Line and announces the introduction of the mobile ecosystem onboard their passenger ships.

This is deploying a connectivity platform with Mobile/3G/4G, Premium Wi-Fi, Ka-VSAT and mobile broadband backhaul in addition to existing system to improve the customer experience. Digital services that support the complete digital value chain vastly enhancing the customer experience onboard.

“We are delighted to develop further our long-term partnership with Stena Line, one of the largest ferry companies in the world with Europe’s most comprehensive route network, consisting of 21 strategically located ferry routes across Northern Europe, operating in Scandinavia, the Baltics, the North Sea and the Irish Sea,” said Frode Støldal, CEO of Telenor Maritime.

“We are confident that our communications services will substantially enhance the customer journey on the twenty ships we are upgrading. Additionally, we are ready for the introduction of 5G with IOT services which will truly increase the ship operations efficiency. This is an important step for Telenor Maritime’s service-expansion in Europe,” he added.

“We have had a long and fruitful relation working with Telenor Maritime, previously Maritime Communications Partner. In fact, we were their very first customer in  2004, and we truly recognise them as the leading mobile operator at sea with an ever-expanding quality portfolio of services relevant for the ferry industry,” said Raimo Warkki, Commercials, Ship Communication & Systems of Stena Line.

“Continually looking to develop the onboard customer experience, we intend to provide our guests with improved services on our fleet of passenger-vessels, giving them a choice to always stay connected if they prefer. Our free low-performance Wi-Fi is complemented with a Premium, high-quality Wi-Fi alternative for our guests, opening up for more advanced services highly sought after by our passengers,” Raimo Warkki continued.

 

P&O Cruises' Ventura completes two-week docking at Damen Shiprepair Brest

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 09 April 2018 09 April 2018

The P&O Cruises Grand-class cruise ship Ventura has just completed a two-week docking at Damen Shiprepair Brest. Launched in 2008, this was the first visit of the 290-metre, 116,000 gross ton vessel to the yard, where she underwent a regular docking together with a range of maintenance works.

Major features of the maintenance programme included the installation of two exhaust gas scrubbers, for which Damen Shiprepair Brest (DSBr) designed, manufactured and installed a sea chest. While the Ventura was in DSBr’s Drydock number 3, at 420m by 80m the largest of DSBr’s three dry docks, the hull was ultra-high-pressure water blasted and then, along with the superstructure, repainted. Additional works included maintenance of the propulsion systems and stabilisers, plus other minor repairs.

As with all cruise ship dockings, completing the works within the scheduled period was absolutely critical with the Ventura due to depart Southampton on 28 March on a 12-night cruise to the Canary Islands and Lisbon. The logistics were particularly challenging, with a wide range of subcontractors needing access to the vessel both inside and out, and hundreds of containers, trucks and garbage skips to be positioned around the dock and manoeuvred as necessary during the two-week period. As always, meticulous planning and exact specification of all the different tasks to be undertaken took place in the months before her arrival. That, plus excellent organisation while she was in the yard, was the key to success. In the event, the Ventura departed DSBr on 26 March with all works completed and in top shape for her 3,574 passengers and 1,220 crew.

“This is the first time that we have welcomed a vessel owned by Carnival plc (which operates the P&O Cruises brand),” said Patrick Renavot, Managing Director Damen Shiprepair Brest, “and we were delighted that the project was a success. All planned work was finished on time and the vessel returned to its busy schedule on schedule.

“As cruise ships expand in terms of both numbers and size, we hope to see our general activity in this sector grow. With two dry docks of 420-metres and 338-metres respectively plus a convenient and easily-accessed location for cruise ships entering and leaving the Atlantic, DSBr has much to offer owners and operators looking for yards capable of meeting their specific needs.”

In recent years, the yard has made substantial investments in its facilities including an enhanced black and grey water disposal capability and a new fire and cooling water supply system. The yard also features ample owners’ storage, extensive laydown areas and spacious temporary workshops for subcontractors. There is even an adjacent container terminal. The yard has a constructive relationship with the local authorities and, with a culture at the yard based on maximising safety and cooperation, customers can rely on a committed, efficient service at every level.