As 2022 sets sail, every ship is looking forward to a safe and trouble-free year at sea.

Marine boiler systems play an important safety role as vital marine equipment, requiring the regulation of steam production to keep the ship in thermal balance at all times. An imbalance in steam supply regulation can significantly increase the risk to the safety of ship operations and can have serious consequences.

The process of decarbonising shipping will result in changes in steam requirements as ships switch to new fuels. Whether it is a change to a compliant low sulphur fuel, a switch to liquefied natural gas (LNG) or a retrofit of a desulphurisation tower based on conventional fuels, Alfa Laval has developed a comprehensive boiler maintenance strategy for its marine customers to improve equipment performance levels, reduce the total operating costs of the vessel, maintain excellent energy efficiency and keep the vessel in perfect thermal balance for safe navigation.

An effective boiler maintenance strategy = perfect heat balance + total cost of ownership + maximum energy efficiency

Boiler maintenance, can it wait?

Sometimes, shipowners do not overhaul their boilers in the first place due to short-term considerations of ease of maintenance, professionalism and maintenance costs. For example, an ocean-going vessel had discovered a boiler leak three years earlier. However, the boiler was delayed in being repaired due to concerns about the potentially huge costs associated with the need for repair and the fact that the shipping company itself did not have the expertise or personnel to repair the boiler. As the leaks became more severe, the thermal efficiency fell below the critical point, exposing the ship to increasing operational safety risks.

Professional and flexible repair solutions, no waiting

Alfa Laval's team of specialist service engineers can repair boilers while the ship is at anchor or in dock. Thanks to a global network of repair locations, Alfa Laval can quickly adjust the start date and team size to meet the ship's shipping schedule. If the time available for repair and maintenance is short, Alfa Laval can also deploy additional trained specialists to expedite the work.

With the appropriate specifications in place, Alfa Laval prepares the tubes to be replaced ashore and delivers them to the ship in advance to shorten the repair process; if it is not possible to repair the boiler during operations, Alfa Laval's repair team can travel with the ship to complete repairs quickly while the vessel is at anchor.

Scientific management and careful maintenance on a daily basis maximise the uptime of the equipment and reduce the total cost of ownership. Good boiler maintenance routines provide a number of benefits.

    Avoiding forced use of diesel fuel due to boiler downtime, which can lead to higher diesel fuel usage costs

    Ensure sailing schedules are maintained without the need for major adjustments due to maintenance

    Avoiding potential charter stoppages

Tips:How to prevent boiler leaks

    Use the water produced by the watermaker

    Dispose of boiler water correctly

    Ensure the hotwell temperature is kept as high as possible (85-95°C)

    Continuously monitor condensate status

    Pay attention to boiler combustion conditions