Wärtsilä and Carnival Corporation have signed a comprehensive, 12-year agreement that “strengthens their existing partnership and joint continuous improvement efforts to maintain the highest possible levels for cruise ship safety and reliability,” according to a statement.

The performance-based agreement provides for shared financial incentives and exposure based on outcomes for both companies.

The value of the long-term agreement is approximately EUR 900 million. The expected revenues for 24 months, approximately EUR 150 million, will be included in Wärtsilä’s order book for the first quarter of 2017. As the contract becomes effective as of April 1, the expected revenues for 2017 are EUR 56 million.

According to the agreement, all engine maintenance and monitoring work for 79 of Carnival Corporation’s vessels will be handled by Wärtsilä, and ongoing planning will be a collaboration between both companies.

The agreement includes Wärtsilä’s Dynamic Maintenance Planning (DMP) and Condition Based Maintenance (CBM). These services are based on capturing digitalised data streams from every engine, after which this data is analysed by specialists. This allows real-time optimisation of the equipment whilst predicting operational and maintenance demands. With the DMP and CBM in place, vessel and fleet operations are optimized and engine overhaul intervals potentially extended. With approximately 400 Wärtsilä engines covered under the agreement, even the smallest improvements in vessel fuel consumption add up to significant annual savings in fleet operational costs.

“Our agreement with Wärtsilä extends our cooperation to a strategic partnership,” said Bill Burke, Chief Maritime Officer for Carnival Corporation. “With Wärtsilä maintaining vessels under our agreement and ensuring a high level of safety and reliability, we can concentrate on our core priority – providing great cruise vacations for our more than 11 million annual guests. In addition to reducing our costs, the long-term agreement increases safety and operational efficiency – two critical advantages in the fast-growing cruise market.”