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Kittiwake Developments, a leading global provider of marine and related sector technology solutions, has announced what it describes as a 'significant cost reduction and payment plan' for its LinerSCAN product.

LinerSCAN uses magnetometry to quantify the iron in used cylinder oil, reporting changes caused by abrasive wear and highlighting periods of increased physical or thermal stress. This allows appropriate preventative actions during the ships passage to the next port, or even a route change if necessary, and insures against potentially costly ship 'downtime'.

LinerSCAN sensors are fitted to individual cylinders of the main engine to continually monitor the scrapedown oil for ferrous wear. Multiple output options and bespoke software provide the onboard engineers with actionable and trend-able readings which can be used to improvemaintenance scheduling, decrease sampling and testing costs, optimize lubricant feed rate, minimise liner wear and detect ingress of CAT fines.

The company says that LinerSCAN can now be purchased for a markedly lower price, with the option to pay a lower up front cost and spread the remaining amount over a three-year period for multiple vessel purchases.

Kittiwake says the new payment plan makes the product more affordable for customers in the current economic climate and at a time when varying fuel quality is increasingly impacting engine performance and reliability.

Martin Lucas, managing director at Kittiwake Developments, commented: "Kittiwake is renowned for listening to its customers needs and in adapting our pricing template we believe we have ensured LinerSCAN is now more affordable to more customers amid times of austerity. Now more than ever, ship owners and operators need to maintain a clear competitive advantage through reliable, consistent operations and ensuring profitability. The marine industry recognises that effective condition monitoring is central to achieving this and the increased market penetration we have achieved with LinerSCAN has enabled us to intensify manufacturing volumes, allowing us to leverage reduced material costs and thus lower the price. We are also able to offer a deferred payment option for sales to five vessels or more, that ultimately make LinerSCAN more accessible to the marine market."

Lucas added: "As part of this innovative payment option, Kittiwake will service and maintain the fitted LinerSCAN over an agreed period and as required; noting that LinerSCAN has proven to be a very reliable product and therefore needs little maintenance. The collective impact of successful troubleshooting using online tools and technology can equate to millions of dollars in savings, while also avoiding increased workload and stress levels for maintenance supervisors and the crew when systems fail."