Maintenance
Maintenance is half the job
Regular servicing prevents problems and extends the lifespan of your marine diesel engine. Whoever keeps their engine in shape knows its history and sees deviations coming; whoever doesn't will sooner or later face a big bill.
The schedule runs on operating hours
Maintenance follows the hour count, with fixed intervals at 250, 500, 1,500, 3,000, 6,000 and 12,000 running hours, which for most vessels amounts to roughly one service per year. Each interval comes with its own list of tasks, and by working through that list you build up a file that lets you track your engine's condition over the years.
What you do yourself and what we take on
The engineer on board often does the small jobs, such as changing oil and replacing filters, and we gladly leave it that way because it keeps your costs fair. We come in for work that calls for specialist knowledge or tooling: adjusting valve clearances, pressure-testing and setting injectors, measuring compression pressure and assessing cylinder liners. On top of that, the supply of technical personnel is shrinking, so not everyone on board can carry out engine maintenance any more.
Get to know your own engine
One tip we are happy to give you: make sure you know your own engine well enough to recognise the signs of a malfunction or damage straight away. If you act quickly, high costs are avoided in most cases.
Prevention is better than cure
A vessel is in port only briefly and has to leave again, so everything hinges on planning. If your engineer reports a few days before the port stay what needs doing, we check our stock, order whatever is missing and let you know what is feasible in the time available.
If there are ten items on the list and five fit in the window, we say so honestly and agree the rest with your engineer, so that it carries over to the next port stay. That way your planning holds and the workload on board stays manageable.
A schedule tailored to your engine
Our mechanics help you draw up a maintenance schedule tailored to your engine type and operating profile, because a tug calls for something different than a fishing vessel that works through the whole season. With our knowledge of Wärtsilä, MaK, MAN, Scania, Deutz and Caterpillar, we carry out that maintenance to factory specifications, which extends the life of your engine and keeps your operating costs under control.
Thinking along is part of the job
For regular customers we keep parts in stock, such as injectors, nozzles and filters, precisely because those are the items you don't want to wait for. Advice is simply part of it as far as we are concerned: if your oil samples are good, we advise against an expensive oil change, and if our mechanic sees something that isn't right, we record it on the work order and report it to your engineer. We think along with your wallet, because it is in our own interest that you keep sailing.
Our possibilities
The routine service
A service follows the hour count and covers the entire installation: oil change, oil and fuel filters, V-belt and engine mounts, gearbox, raw water pump impeller, propeller shaft alignment and the internal cooling water system, all checked and assessed by our team.
Adjusting and measuring
Adjusting valve clearances, pressure-testing injectors and measuring compression keep your engine within specification. Injectors that drip instead of atomise cause smoke, higher consumption and a fouled lube oil sump. A quarterly oil sample shows what is going on.
Major maintenance
As your hour count climbs, heavier work follows: checking cylinder liners, overhauling or replacing cylinder heads, cleaning the turbo and flushing the coolers. Small maintenance always ends up as major maintenance, which is no problem as long as you see it coming.
Download our brochure
Get to know LBR. In our brochure you can read who we are, how we work and why customers keep coming back.
The results
- Small problems are caught before they grow into costly repairs
- Minimal downtime: the work is planned around your port stay
- Maintenance to factory specifications, so no discussion with your insurer or classification society
- A maintenance schedule tailored to your engine type and operating profile
- We know your engine's history and spot deviations in time
- Oil and fuel consumption stay under control
- Parts are in stock for regular customers, so we can switch quickly on work between port stays
- Honest advice: what isn't necessary, we don't do
- Your engineer has time left for their own tasks on board
Why choose Louis Baes Repairs?
24/7 on standby, on location worldwide
We are reachable day and night and come to the port where you are berthed, wherever in the world that may be. You don't get a call centre, but someone who knows your engines. If time is tight, we run a day and a night shift, so your vessel is back under way sooner.
Two workshops of our own on deep water
IJmuiden and Harlingen both lie directly on the quay at deep water, with all machinery and measuring equipment within reach. What has to be done ashore is done with us, without middlemen, and you are welcome to walk through the workshop and see your parts yourself.
Specialist in all major brands
Wärtsilä, MaK, MAN and Deutz are part of our daily work, and we handle other brands too. Through LBR Parts we supply new and reconditioned parts from our own stock, so you don't have to wait for a factory delivery and your downtime stays short.
Everything agreed with you
With us you always know where you stand. If we come across something on your engine during the work, you hear about it straight away, with pictures and readings. Rejected parts we set aside so you can inspect them yourself, and nothing leaves without your approval.
