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.

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 has already commenced operating an Expert-in-the Loop service at our Remote Diagnostics Centre in Manila. This anomaly detection system oversees the entire engine plant, and we are confident that the complementing expertise from both our companies will result in the best possible support for our vessels. By leveraging big data and artificial intelligence, the maritime industry can greatly increase its efficiency, safety, and competitiveness, and we are keen to take advantage of this wherever possible. We are excited at the possibilities provided by Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight and look forward to the results from this programme,” says Shogo Yamada, Manager, Marine Group, NYK LINE.

“When we introduced Expert Insight as part of the Optimised Maintenance programme, it was pointed out that it takes predictive maintenance to the next level. This is rapidly proving to be the case, and we are happy to cooperate with NYK/MTI in demonstrating the commercial value and benefits the system offers to them by delivering greater vessel uptime, less unscheduled maintenance, and lower operating costs while optimising their ships’ performance,” says Tateo Miyagawa, Managing Director, Wärtsilä Japan.

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.
Source: Wärtsilä