Rolls-Royce and Svitzer sign long-term service agreement for MTU engines

Rolls-Royce has signed a 10-year service agreement with leading global towage and marine services operator Svitzer A/S. The agreement – named Global Frame Value Care Agreement (VCA) – covers spare parts deliveries in 6 countries for a fleet of 17 tugs powered by MTU-brand Series 4000 engines. In it, the cost of maintenance services is being tied to the engine up-time. This is the first maintenance contract of its kind to be signed by Svitzer. The preventive maintenance arrangement preserves engine availability for Svitzer while contributing to optimal life-cycle costs.

Danish founded towage company Svitzer currently operates 17 vessels with MTU Series 4000 units on board. Among them are the world's first harbor tugs with 90 tons bollard pull powered by high-speed diesel engines. These have been in service in the Tanger-Med cargo port in Morocco since 2018. Other vessels are deployed in Brazil, Costa-Rica, Denmark, Great Britain and Germany. Also included in the fleet is the tug Svitzer Hermod, the first commercial vessel to demonstrate remote operation, which is likewise powered by twin MTU 16V4000 M63 diesel units. As part of the agreement, the Rolls-Royce business unit Power Systems will ensure that exactly the right spare parts for a vessel are made ready in the right place at the right time for each scheduled maintenance. This approach will allow Svitzer to have focus on efficiency in the technical management and operation of the vessels in scope, while spare parts planning, scheduling and deliveries are handled by Rolls-Royce.

“We are highly satisfied with the performance of the MTU engines in our day-to-day operation and with our cooperation with Rolls-Royce since 2016. The global frame agreement provides the basis for long-term collaboration and it will enable us to further optimize our vessel running costs while maintaining a smooth and reliable operation at the same time,” said Kasper Gottlieb, Head of Global Procurement at Svitzer.

“As part of the current Technical Operating Model within Svitzer we want to focus further on our main equipment performance and reliability. It is our belief that the maintenance agreement with Rolls-Royce will give a great support on the current journey of Svitzer on defining the actual life cycle costs of our main equipment components” said Evangelos Fragkoulis, Chief Technical Officer of Svitzer.

“We are delighted that Svitzer has chosen to step up cooperation with us as their trusted partner,” said Denise Kurtulus, Director Global Marine Business at Rolls-Royce. “This new agreement provides us with a basis for intensifying our work together on other technologies such as hybrids and gas engines, as well as on digital services for real-time monitoring of operation.” By enabling technical data to be captured and processed on an ongoing basis, digitalization has opened up a number of new possibilities in the field of proactive maintenance management. These are being realized already by Rolls-Royce as part of Customer Service 4.0, with new digital products such as MTU-Go!Act and MTU-Go!Manage providing solution strategies especially suited to the needs of fleet operators, among others.

Svitzer is part of the Maersk group. With a 4,000-strong workforce it operates 440 vessels in 120 ports across 34 countries. In addition to towage services in ports and terminals, Svitzer provides a wide range of other marine services, including emergency response.

Press photos are available for download from www.rrpowersystems.com/press

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

  1. Rolls-Royce pioneers cutting-edge technologies that deliver clean, safe and competitive solutions to meet our planet’s vital power needs.
  2. Rolls-Royce Power Systems is headquartered in Friedrichshafen in southern Germany and employs around 11,000 people. The product portfolio includes MTU-brand high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land, rail and defence vehicles and for the oil and gas industry as well as diesel and gas systems and battery containers for mission critical, standby and continuous power, combined generation of heat and power, and microgrids. Medium-speed engines from Bergen power ships and power generation applications.
  3. Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
  4. Annual underlying revenue was £15 billion in 2018, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services.
  5. In 2018, Rolls-Royce invested £1.4 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 29 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
  6. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.

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