Wärtsilä and ABB Turbocharging to service Royal Caribbean Cruises in ten-year agreement
Wärtsilä has signed a ten-year maintenance and technical support agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL), which includes a subcontract with ABB Turbocharging, the Finnish company said in a press release. One of the largest between Wärtsilä and a marine customer, the service agreement covers 142 Wärtsilä engines and 170 ABB turbochargers in 36 vessels.
Wärtsilä, the marine industry's leading provider of innovative products, solutions and services, has signed a ten-year maintenance and technical support agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. ABB Turbocharging, the world leader in the manufacture and maintenance of turbochargers for 500 kW to 80+ MW diesel and gas engines, has been subcontracted by Wärtsilä in the servicing of the agreement, which covers 142 Wärtsilä engines and 170 ABB turbochargers in 36 RCL vessels, 32 already in operation and four newbuilds, with an option to add more vessels in the future.
Under the terms of the contract, Wärtsilä will provide a broad range of services for RCL, including condition monitoring of the engines, individualised technical support, the development and design of new components as well as spare parts supply agreement. ABB Turbocharging will work with Wärtsilä to provide a customised service package for the turbochargers on the vessels, including scheduled and unscheduled spare parts and labour at ABB workshop.
The agreement is one of the largest between Wärtsilä and a marine customer. It supports Wärtsilä’s strategy of offering long-term service agreements that allow customers to focus on their core business. ABB’s agreement with Wärtsilä will bolster their strategy of responding effectively and intelligently to customers’ needs to make a positive, lasting difference in their applications’ operation.
“By combining the knowledge from the customer’s side with the knowledge and experience from Wärtsilä and ABB, we made this agreement a reality. The contract will enhance the predictability of Royal Caribbean’s operational costs, minimise scheduled and unscheduled maintenance costs as well as optimise the planning of maintenance and spare parts deliveries,” says Kimmo Kohtamäki, Director of 4-stroke engines at Wärtsilä.
“Our focus has always been to ensure safe, cost-effective and reliable turbocharger operations so that RCL can focus on what is most important of all, namely the safety and comfort of their passengers and their business. We are very pleased to be able to work with Wärtsilä to offer RCL the very best standard in turbocharging,” says Axel Kettmann, Senior Vice President and global head of sales, marketing and service at ABB Turbocharging.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates a substantial number of Wärtsilä engines, and has over 40 years of co-operation and partnership with Wärtsilä. Wärtsilä and ABB Turbocharging also have a longstanding collaboration around turbocharging in several key areas, including service agreements, research and development and sales.
Helsinki, Finland based Wärtsilä Corporation is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. In 2010, Wärtsilä's net sales totaled EUR 4.6 billion with 17,500 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
Wärtsilä’s Services & Support Business has the broadest offering in the industry. It ranges from basic support, installation and commissioning, performance optimization, upgrades, conversions and environmental solutions to service projects and agreements focusing on overall equipment performance and asset management.
ABB Turbocharging specializes in the manufacture and maintenance of turbochargers for 500 kW to 80+ MW diesel and gas engines. Approximately 200,000 ABB turbochargers are in operation across the globe on ships, power stations, gen-sets, diesel locomotives and large, off-highway vehicles. ABB has over 100 Service Stations in more than 50 countries globally and a wide service portfolio. ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 150,000 people.