Svitzer and Rolls-Royce working together
Towage company Svitzer and technology services provider Rolls-Royce have signed a long-term service agreement covering the preventative spare parts supply for 17 tugs powered by MTU Series 4000 engines.
In a first for Svitzer, the 10-year service agreement named Global Frame Value Care Agreement covers spare parts for 17 of its MTU Series 4000-powered tugs operating in six countries. The cost of preventative maintenance provision will be tied to engine up-time and ensure exactly the right parts for a vessel are ready in the right place at the right time for each scheduled maintenance.
The arrangement allows Svitzer to focus on the operation and technical management of each vessel with spare parts planning, scheduling and deliveries handled by Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems.
Among the 17 vessels covered by the agreement are the world’s first harbour tugs with 90tbp powered by high-speed engines, operating in the Tanger-Med cargo port in Morocco. Other vessels are deployed in Brazil, Costa-Rica, Denmark, Great Britain and Germany including the tug Svitzer Hermod, the first commercial vessel to demonstrate remote operation.
Svitzer state that as part of its current Technical Operating Model it wants to focus further on main equipment performance and reliability and considers the maintenance agreement will give “great support on the current journey of Svitzer on defining the actual life cycle costs of our main equipment components”.
An interesting aspect of the project is the opportunity to explore areas of technological development beyond just routine preventative maintenance function as Denise Kurtulus, director Global Marine Business at Rolls-Royce explains: “This new agreement provides us with a basis for intensifying our work together on other technologies such as hybrids and gas engines, as well as on digital services for real-time monitoring of operation.”
An area where digitisation is providing potential for increasing the availability of real-time knowledge over a wide geographical is where technical data can be captured and processed on an on-going basis opening a number of new possibilities in the field of pro-active maintenance management. This area is already being developed by Rolls-Royce as part of its Customer Service 4.0 with new digital products including MTU-Go!Manage providing solution strategies particularly suited to the needs of fleet operators.
By Peter Barker
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