The technology group Wärtsilä has signed an Optimised Maintenance agreement with the Japanese shipping giant Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI) to evaluate Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight predictive maintenance service as part of a pilot programme. The agreement was signed in January 2021 and, the programme could lead to NYK adopting the solution throughout its entire fleet, according to the company's release.
The evaluation will be carried out on two LNG Carrier vessels, the ‘Marvel Falcon’ and the ‘LNG Sakura’. Both vessels operate with Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines. The programme will evaluate the analytics and support service provided by Expert Insight, in combination with the Wärtsilä Optimised Maintenance Lifecycle solution.
Expert Insight is an innovative service that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced diagnostics to monitor equipment and systems in real-time, spot anomalies, foresee potential problems, and enable rapid reaction accordingly. Should anomalous behaviour be detected, it is flagged to specialists at Wärtsilä Expertise Centres, allowing them to support the customer proactively with an appropriate resolution to the issue. The combination of AI, advanced diagnostics, and the company’s extensive equipment expertise greatly enhances the reliability, efficiency, and safety of the installed equipment.
NYK, one of the biggest ship owners in the world, is a long-term customer of Wärtsilä and has many vessels with Wärtsilä solutions installed.
Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2020, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
NYK in brief:
Founded in 1885, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) has become a leader in global marine transport by meeting challenges head on and achieving steady growth.
MTI in brief:
As a member of the NYK Group, MTI aims to create innovations at the fields of marine transportation and logistics as infrastructures of the global economy. For this mission, we conduct a variety of research and development projects, often involving open collaboration, in areas such as safe vessel operations, environmental conservation, energy saving, and ITC technologies that support those activities.