Rolls-Royce: Significantly extended time between overhauls helps reduce costs and emissions

SPONSORED CONTENT: Based on vessel mission and load profile, Rolls-Royce has significantly increased the time between overhauls (TBO). As a result, its mtu Series 4000 engines, which are used in tugboats, ferries, and numerous other vessel types worldwide, not only reduce downtime due to maintenance or overhauls, but also reduce costs by enabling continuous operation.

In addition to the cost savings of extended TBO, a revised maintenance schedule also ensures that fewer parts need to be replaced and less travel is required by technicians. This results in reduced emissions. Further CO2 reductions of up to 90% over the entire lifetime of the engine can be achieved by using sustainable fuels like HVO, without compromising TBO.

The extension of TBO and associated benefits is made possible by the evaluation and analysis of tens of thousands of data sets from thousands of engines in customer use worldwide. Rolls-Royce has summarized the resulting insights and calculations for various vessel types and applications in use cases.

Use Case: Tugboats

Tugboats play a vital role in port operations globally. Any downtime, whether planned or unexpected, can significantly disrupt smooth operations. Therefore, operators aim to minimize both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance downtime throughout the vessel’s lifecycle. The following use case illustrates how this challenge can be addressed with optimized TBO.  Read the use case for detailed information.

Use Case: Ferries with Intermittent Load

Ferries that operate based on seasonal business exhibit a fluctuating load profile due to their intermittent nature, and this variability is reflected in the data. Read the use case for detailed information.

Use Case: Ferries with Medium Load

Unlike seasonal tourist ferries that experience fluctuations in demand during peak and off-peak periods, commercial passenger ferries operate continuously throughout the year. In the following use case, Rolls-Royce provides insights into how this type of operation impacts the time between overhauls. Read the use case for detailed information.