A landmark marine engine overhaul

The SK Audace in the dry dock of Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering during its recently completed engine overhaul. (Photo: CMS)

CSSC Marine Service Co. (CMS), the worldwide equipment service subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC), announced it has completed what it called “the world’s first ever 36,000 running hours major maintenance on dual-fuel (X-DF) marine engines.”

The overhaul was carried out by CMS Korea at the Malaysia Marine & Heavy Engineering (MMHE) shipyard in June.

The vessel, SK Audace – a 117,000 gross tonnage LNG tanker owned by Total Gas & Power Chartering – is driven by two WinGD 6X62DF dual-fuel engines. Having completed more than 36,000 operating hours, a major service was scheduled in accordance with class society and design specifications. The full package maintenance project included condition-based and post-completion consulting. CMS is WinGD’s authorized service partner.

Andrew Stump, president of CSSC Marine Service checks the tolerances of a part during the company’s recent 36,000-hour overhaul of the WinGD dual-fuel engines used in the SK Audace. (Photo: CMS)

“The extensive service capabilities of CMS have again been emphasized with the successful completion of this landmark maintenance project,” said Yan Wei, vice president of CMS. “Not only was it the first 36,000-hour overhaul of an X-DF engine, but the spare parts supply had to be carried out under challenging lockdown circumstances because of COVID-19. Most importantly, the overhaul confirmed the excellent condition of the WinGD engines.”

CMS said the design qualities of the engines were demonstrated throughout the disassembly of the moving parts and overhaul work, both during the 36,000-hour project and an 18,000-hour overhaul project two years ago. In both cases, CMS had to overcome challenging circumstances caused by the pandemic.

LNG carriers and vessels powered by gas engines continue to represent the major share of newbuild projects. X-DF engines have been used by a number of ship owners and CMS prepares spare part stocks and plays a supporting role in maiden voyages and warranty support issues. Its extensive servicing experience with X-DF engines has been the driver for numerous long-term service agreement signings, CMS said.

CMS supports customers with its own servicing capabilities in China, Korea, Singapore, Hamburg, Germany and Switzerland and uses partner service facilities to provide global coverage.