---

Marine transportation company Harvey Gulf International Marine LLC has signed a long-term technical management agreement with Wärtsilä.

The five-year agreement was signed in August 2014 and covers condition-based maintenance and dynamic maintenance planning for eight new offshore supply and multi-purpose support vessels - six liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled platform supply vessels and two offshore construction vessels powered by diesel fuel.

The contract also includes online remote operational support, which enables Wärtsilä's technical experts to support vessels in real time, without the need for engineers to travel to the vessels.

"The signed agreement ensures ideal running conditions and optimized maintenance for Harvey Gulf's new vessels. It ensures that their engines - 18 Wärtsilä 34 dual-fuel engines and eight Wärtsilä 32 engines - always run at the optimal level, with optimized fuel economy and maintenance costs. Technical management is based on continuous condition monitoring data and periodical inspections," Wärtsilä said.

Shane J. Guidry, CEO of Harvey Gulf, remarked: "Harvey Gulf's decision to become the leader in Clean Gulf of Mexico offshore operations has been enthusiastically accepted by oil company executives. And we are extending our partnership with Wärtsilä, through this technical management agreement, to assure our new fleet of vessels are maintained to the highest standards of safety, reliability and availability."

Walter Reggente, Service Director of Wärtsilä North America, commented: "We are very pleased to expand our partnership with Harvey Gulf. This agreement reaffirms their commitment to the offshore oil and gas business in the Gulf of Mexico by adding safe and environmentally sustainable LNG-fuelled vessels to their modern fleet. With this extended partnership, we will enable the safe and reliable operation of their offshore supply and multi-purpose support vessels throughout their lifecycle."

Reducing maintenance costs and increasing vessel's uptime through condition-based maintenance

Condition-based maintenance is designed to bring flexibility to operations as maintenance intervals are optimized. The system enables feeding engine parameters into Wärtsilä's database, after which they are evaluated by specialists at the condition-based monitoring center.

The system is designed to enable early detection of performance issues, reduce downtime as well as optimize engine performance and fuel consumption.

"Knowing the actual condition of the engine allows the implementation of the dynamic maintenance planning concept. This brings a significant opportunity to reduce operating costs by optimizing the timing of major overhauls and reducing the consumption of spare parts," Wärtsilä said.

Image: Harvey Provider