Technology group Wärtsilä has entered into a 15-year Lifecycle Agreement with China LNG Shipping (International) Co. Ltd. (CLSICO), covering three LNG carriers in its fleet. The deal, effective from August 2025 and booked in Q3, aims to enhance operational reliability, improve maintenance flexibility, and optimise the time between overhauls (TBO) for each vessel.
Meeting Rising LNG Shipping Demands
Global LNG consumption continues to climb, placing additional pressure on shipping operators to maintain tight delivery schedules. Reliability, therefore, is no longer a competitive edge but a necessity. With LNG carriers tasked to meet growing demand, downtime and unscheduled maintenance can directly affect supply chain efficiency.
Andrew Johnston, General Manager at CLSICO, highlighted the importance of long-term service partnerships in today’s market: “With the LNG ship transportation industry chain entering a period of rapid development, we are committed to operating our LNG ships safely, reliably and efficiently. Wärtsilä’s Lifecycle Agreements play an important role here, ensuring we continue to optimise the operations and maintenance of our vessels more effectively.”
Predictive Maintenance and Data-Driven Support
The agreement covers three LNG carriers: Al TUWAR, Al MAS’HABIYYAH, and FAT’H AL KHAIR. Each vessel is approximately 300 metres long with a capacity of 174,000 m³, powered by two 8-cylinder and two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines.
Central to the deal is Wärtsilä’s digital solution, Expert Insight, which uses predictive maintenance to identify potential issues before they escalate. The tool supports Dynamic Maintenance Planning, allowing operators to better manage costs while ensuring asset availability. Remote connectivity enables round-the-clock support, cutting response times and reducing the risk of costly downtime.
Henrik Wilhelms, Director of Agreement Sales at Wärtsilä Marine, underlined the growing role of digitalisation in ship operations: “In today’s complex marine market, leveraging service agreements, digital tools and real-time data and analytics can maximise the lifecycle uptime and OPEX of a vessel – helping fleets to run optimally, stay competitive and comply with current and future decarbonisation targets.”
Building on Previous Collaboration
This latest agreement follows an earlier deal signed in 2023 between Wärtsilä and CLSICO for the DAPENG PRINCESS, the world’s largest shallow draft LNG carrier. The continued cooperation signals CLSICO’s focus on long-term operational efficiency through structured maintenance and digital monitoring solutions.
