The Greek global provider of LNG shipping services, GasLog Ltd, has freed up their company resources by placing a whole fleet of LNG vessels under asset and lifecycle management agreements with Wärtsilä.
GasLog signed its first Dynamic Maintenance Agreement with Wärtsilä already back in 2011. This was for six LNG vessels and marked the start of a long cooperation which now covers agreements for many more vessels.
Over the years, the growing volume of installed engines in GasLog’s fleet made maintenance planning a tedious and time-consuming task, tying-up a significant number of the company’s resources that could otherwise be utilised for more critical
tasks. “Already then, we found that outsourcing the maintenance to Wärtsilä would be the most reasonable and effective solution”, says Mr. Karathanos.
With Wärtsilä’s lifecycle solutions, GasLog can
benefit from Wärtsilä’s extensive global network of skilled and authorised service engineers. In addition, the pricing structure of the agreements allows GasLog to budget engine maintenance accurately, which covers a substantial part
of the company’s overall Operation & Maintenance budget. “In this way, we can avoid unpleasant cashflow surprises.”
For an operator like GasLog, any full or even partial propulsion power loss on their 15 LNG vessels
under agreements would have a considerable impact on their operations. Mr Karathanos lists issues such as safety implications, loss of revenue and damaged reputation. “We place a huge value on the safe delivery of services, so for us any other
scenario is unacceptable. It is imperative that the right spares are onboard a vessel at the right time.”
According to Mr Karathanos, Wärtsilä’s lifecycle solutions have become more flexible, now offering more options and customisations to some extent. “The Lifecycle Solution Sales manager has been very open to listening to our concerns.
He has been able to provide us with some contract flexibility and ways to manage our costs.”
Mr. Kavouras further adds that Wärtsilä has provided excellent support and assistance.
The three most important
benefits of the agreements for GasLog are peace of mind with regards to maintenance planning and budgeting, the warranty of both repairs and support, and the global service network. “Wärtsilä takes care of the labour and spare parts
logistics, and cost projection is risk-free for the whole duration of the contract. We have received a rapid response on our requests, even during peak load occasions or in challenging times, such as during the months with the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns”,
explains Mr. Kavouras.
Dynamic maintenance planning (DMP) is a vital part of asset and lifecycle management agreements. Savings from the DMP and agreements are vessel specific and depend on the ships’ operating profiles. “In
most cases, we have been able to achieve savings thanks to postponing maintenance and aligning it with the major repair activities of other vessels”, Mr. Kavouras concludes.
Due to us having many installed engines, this is an effective solution that brings peace of mind with regards to maintenance planning and execution. Also, maintenance budgeting is now risk-free.
