Technology group Wärtsilä has signed a five-year Lifecycle Agreement with Korea Maritime Transport Co(KMTC). The agreement covers two post-Panamax container vessels, each powered by Wärtsilä 12RT-flex96C-B two-stroke main engines, and became effective from January 2024.
This agreement follows a similar five-year agreement signed a year earlier to cover four KMTC Panamax container vessels operating with Wärtsilä 7RT-flex96C-B main engines. The technical support provided by Wärtsilä, together with the security of supply for key components and other benefits under the terms of the contract, ensures the vessels’ operational reliability and delivers significant maintenance cost savings.
“We have been very happy with the earlier Wärtsilä agreement and are pleased to renew it for these two ships. It allows us to save time and resources on maintenance issues as well as enable efficient engine management with reliability,” says Mr. Woo Y.O, General Manager, Repair & Supply Team, KMTC Ship Management Co. Ltd.
In addition to the secured availability of contracted key components, the scope of the agreement includes the Wärtsilä Health check which is an annual main engine’s condition assessment by two-stroke technical engine experts. This ensures that the engines operate within design boundaries, whilst providing maximised operation intervals for the key components. The scope also includes some specific component services and overhauls. Furthermore, Wärtsilä provides dedicated agreement management and technical support by local experts.
“The signing of a new agreement with KMTC demonstrates the value that our agreements can offer to our customers, especially at a time where the industry is so heavily focused on the decarbonisation transition. We appreciate the strong relationship between our companies and look forward to continuing our operational support for their fleet,” comments Do Hyun Kim, Sales Manager / Owner Account, Wärtsilä Marine Business Sales for Korea.
Wärtsilä’s Lifecycle Agreements provide long-term cost predictability and availability by using data-driven technical support and maintenance at every step from planning to execution. The customer benefits from proactive support and recommendations by experts at Wärtsilä Expertise Centres, who help to optimise maintenance intervals according to actual needs, while preventing unexpected downtime.