MAN PrimeServ Engine Management Contract

Nakilat’s wholly owned fleet of LNG ships is now covered by MAN PrimeServ, MAN Diesel & Turbo’s after-sales division, after an EMC maintenance agreement signed with STASCO – the shipping division of Royal Dutch Shell – which manages the Nakilat ships. The contract covers a period of 10 years and represents a breakthrough for the Engine Management Concept in that the contract covers an entire fleet.

The agreement covers maintenance management/planning, assistance from PrimeServ superintendent engineers and fitters, as well as spare-parts for 25 LNG carriers (14 Q-Max and 11 Q-Flex). Each LNG carrier is equipped with two type MAN B&W 7S70ME-C or 6S70ME-C main-engines, and four type 9L32/40 or 8L32/40 auxiliary engines, and turbochargers. The engines power a new fleet of LNG carriers delivered to Nakilat between October 2008 and August 2010.

For the purposes of the EMC agreement, the partners have entered an agreement with the Nakilat – Keppel Offshore & Marine (N-KOM) yard for some of the supporting services, such as the supply of fitters and the handling of specific overhaul tasks. N-KOM is situated in Ras Laffan, Qatar's main site for LNG production and one of the largest LNG export facilities in the world.

The LNG fleet will call regularly to Ras Laffan where MAN PrimeServ, in a joint venture with Qatar Navigation, is currently in the process of establishing a 6,000-square-metre service centre, headed by Ole S. Jensen, that will serve EMC vessels as well as other ships visiting Qatar. The service centre is located close to N-KOM and will specialise in fuel equipment, turbochargers, governors and all kind of overhauls as well as retrofits.

The Engine Management Concept is less a contract and more a partnership with much emphasis placed on building a long-term relationship with customers.

Essentially, the EMC fixes customers’ maintenance costs at a set level, normally a steady monthly outlay that facilitates the advance setting of budgets with any excessive maintenance costs covered by MAN Diesel & Turbo.

The EMC enables customers to outsource operation support, and the maintenance and technical management of diesel engines and turbochargers to MAN Diesel & Turbo. Under such an agreement, MAN Diesel & Turbo is responsible for:
•    maintenance planning and management, the provision of regular inspections, qualified labour, the training of operational staff, all spare-parts, and planned and unplanned maintenance
•    the responsibility for fulfilling all contractual obligations for a fixed monthly fee
•    the nomination of a dedicated Key Account Manager (Superintendent) to coordinate the timely delivery, fulfilment and communication of agreed maintenance projects
•    the preparation and implementation of the EMC agreement as an efficiently managed project
•    the coordination of all activities in accordance with MAN Diesel & Turbo procedures and safety standards.

Michael Petersen, Head of EMC Copenhagen said: “The possibilities for optimizing an engine’s life-cycle costs today are many but require an increased focus on operation profiles and, in particular, maintenance over the engine’s lifetime. The optimisation of engine maintenance can be executed in different ways and considerable savings can be made in extending times between overhaul, depending on the chosen maintenance strategy.”

“MAN PrimeServ has introduced the Engine Management Concept (EMC) with the primary objective of optimizing engine life-cycle costs. The EMC replaces that part of a ship owner’s technical management related to MAN Diesel & Turbo products with PrimeServ operating in a close partnership with the ship owner.”