GE's Marine Solutions has entered a service agreement with TMS CARDIFF GAS to support and maintenance four liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels for the next ten years.

GE will provide maintenance services for the TMS vessels' electric propulsion systems under the arrangement.

The company has also agreed to deliver parts for the ships' propulsion motors, medium-voltage drives, generators and switchboards.

Additionally, the deal will see GE carry out modification works on the vessels’ propulsion automation systems in order to improve their remote and diagnostic capabilities.

TMS’ fleet will also be equipped with a Visor remote monitoring system to provide operators with information regarding the vessels' health status and help identify potential issues that may affect diagnostic services.

GE will provide training will to the ships' personnel to enable them to operate the new equipment.

The new long-term agreement and the related upgrade works are expected to optimise the performance and operational efficiency of TMS' vessels.

The LNG vessel sector currently places a large amount of emphasis on the availability and reliability of its ships.

TMS Cardiff Gas deputy chief operating officer Alexandros Politis-Kalenteris said: “Our vision is to be one of the world’s leading LNG and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) operators, with the highest standards of excellence in terms of performance, reliability and safety.

“The maintenance and upgrade services of such sophisticated equipment are technically challenging and require a professional and capable partner to ensure the vessels’ operability.

“Through our partnership with GE for the next decade, we are confident that our fleet will continue to be a premium choice of our customers for their cargo needs.”

The four TMS vessels are known as Corcovado, Kita, Palu and Yari, and all feature electric propulsion systems provided by GE.

Image: TMS CARDIFF GAS’s Corcovado LNG vessel. Photo: courtesy of General Electric.