The technology group Wärtsilä has signed a five-year Guaranteed Asset Performance agreement with Singapore based Livestock Express, the world’s largest provider of premium livestock tonnage. The contract replaces the Optimised Maintenance Agreement, which reached expiration. In upgrading the level of digital support through the new GAP agreement, Wärtsilä was able to deliver a customised maintenance programme designed to provide enhanced operational reliability and performance. The order was included in Wärtsilä’s order book in January 2023.

The new GAP agreement covers a fleet of seven identical 135-metre-long livestock carriers, each operating with a Wärtsilä X35 main engine and three Wärtsilä 20 auxiliary engines. The scope includes a guarantee on engine reliability, a customised maintenance schedule, remote operational support, a component lifetime guarantee, and Wärtsilä’s unique digital predictive maintenance service, Expert Insight.

Expert Insight uses artificial intelligence and advanced diagnostics, to monitor onboard equipment and systems in real time. Specialists at Wärtsilä Expertise Centres are assigned to follow the situation and to support the customer with proactive advice should it be deemed necessary or appropriate.

“Wärtsilä has provided continuous and prompt service support to our fleet during the past five years. This value-adding support has ensured our operational uptime, and we are pleased to extend this cooperation with the new innovative Guaranteed Asset Performance agreement,” says Arunkumar Unnikrishna, General Manager, Livestock Express.

“This contract renewal and upgrade represents the culmination of the trust and recognition earned from the earlier agreement and we are happy to even deepen the collaboration with Livestock Express. With the new agreement we will guarantee the equipment reliability and help customers to lower the carbon footprint of their fleet,” says Jörgen Naaijer, GM Agreement Sales MEA, Wärtsilä.

In addition to the Wärtsilä engines, Livestock Express is already using Wärtsilä’s Fleet Optimisation Solution, integrated ECDIS and intelligent navigation package on 13 of its vessels. Supplied to Livestock Express in 2021, these installations not only enable crews to optimise safe and smooth navigation, the added visibility of a dedicated ship-to-shore connection for navigation has allowed the company to increase remote support for crews, report daily conditions to regulators and improve training for shoreside operators.