Sirius Shipping will invest in online monitoring from SKF, in order to increase control of rotating machinery onboard.
As Sirius Shipping stated, delivering shipment safely and on time, in accordance with an environmentally sustainable manner are important factors for the company. For that reason, the company wants to receive signals before anything happens, in order to launch the appropriate measures in time, Stefan Johansson, Technical Superintendent at Sirius Shipping, said.
In particular, aiming to increase control of rotating equipment, the company has chosen to install online status monitoring with measurement sensors for selected machine components. Sensors of the IMx-8 will detect machine parts and transmit signals online to SKF’s certified Remote Diagnostic Center in Hamburg.
The Nimbus and Marinus vessels are the first to have this installed and another two ships, Neptunus and Scorpius, will follow.
As explained, if an unplanned stoppage were to occur, the length of the stoppage can vary from 6-7 days, to several months, depending on the ship’s location, the accessibility of a shipyard and whether it was necessary to move the boat from the harbour to the shipyard. An ordinary shipyard stoppage could take around 6-7 days. But with a major breakdown, the repairs can take several months, and that is something to be avoided as far as possible, said Stefan Johansson, Technical Superintendent at Sirius Shipping.
“They are aware [the sensors] of deviations and can see immediately if we have gone in to carry out any service measures on the machinery. That is a great help to us along the way. I see it as a good step in the right direction in order to achieve greater predictability, which feels good,” noted Mr. Johansson.
Increasing the reliability of critical rotating equipment on board is a critical challenge. Monitoring the reduction gearbox, which drives the propeller shaft, and the generator, which is also driven by the reduction gearbox has the potential to increase the safety of the system, the company pointed out.
