In 2015 Wärtsilä began discussions about an engine control system upgrade for two LNG carriers, Soyo and Lobito, owned by Seapeak Maritime. Work began towards the end of 2020 and despite some challenges, the project was completed successfully and on time thanks to the smooth collaboration between the two parties. The vessels now benefit from increased engine reliability, along with full lifecycle support.
Vessel reliability and availability are of paramount importance to any operator. An engine control system that is becoming obsolete is harder for the original equipment manufacturer to support, with parts also taking longer to source, and represents an unnecessary risk to operations.
Discussions about the need for an engine control system upgrade on the Soyo and Lobito began when Wärtsilä informed Seapeak Maritime that the vessels’ existing systems would be facing obsolescence within the coming years. As these types of vessels are dry docked every five years for scheduled maintenance, this gave plenty of time for the upgrade to be planned in advance. It was agreed that both Soyo and Lobito would be upgraded to the Wärtsilä Unified Controls (UNIC) system.
An engine control system that is becoming obsolete is harder for the original equipment manufacturer to support, with parts also taking longer to source, and represents an unnecessary risk to operations.
Soyo was the first vessel to receive its upgrade, with work starting in October 2020. Despite some difficulties arising during the process, the project was completed successfully and on time.
“We had a chance to show that we’d learned from the difficulties experienced during the Soyo upgrade, and as a result the upgrade onboard Lobito went very smoothly,” says David King, Key Account Manager at Wärtsilä. “Actions speak louder than words, and the customer appreciated that the issues were fixed and they could see that we’d improved the process for Lobito.”
King outlines the changes made to overcome the technical challenges experienced in the first project: “We sent an additional engineer to the installation, which was a challenge during the pandemic but it was absolutely necessary. We also had a technical team from Finland on standby to assist with fault finding and identifying solutions.”
With no time extension possible for the installation, these extra measures had to be put into place quickly to ensure that the second upgrade was completed on schedule. “As a result of the collaboration we secured UNIC upgrade orders for seven more LNG carriers,” says King. “Three of these upgrades were successfully completed during 2022, and the remaining four will be carried out during 2023 and 2024.”
Both vessels’ engine control systems are now up to date for years to come with support across the system lifecycle with technical upgrades, lifecycle extensions and spare parts.
UNIC is a durable, all-inclusive automation system that coordinates all engine control and monitoring functions including start/stop management, engine safety, fuel management, charge air, cooling and combustion. This gives Seapeak Maritime increased engine reliability and safety, the ability to run on higher gas loads as well as fault tolerance and diagnostics for Soyo and Lobito.
As an additional benefit the upgrade comes with full lifecycle support for both vessels and, as King explains, it also makes future enhancements easier: “An updated system lends itself to add-ons for further improvements, for example further tuning of the engine to make it more efficient. Both vessels’ engine control systems are now up to date for years to come with support across the system lifecycle with technical upgrades, lifecycle extensions and spare parts,” he concludes.
Learn more about the Wärtsilä UNIC system at https://www.wartsila.com/services-catalogue/electrical-automation-services/wartsila-unic-engine-control-system-for-marine
Current engine control systems on Soyo and Lobito facing obsolescence
UNIC engine control system upgrade performed on both vessels
Increased engine reliability and full lifecycle support
