Wärtsilä booked a five-year maintenance and support contract during the third quarter of 2026 covering two 174,000 m³ LNG carriers — the Al Thurayya and Al Majhoulah — newly added to the Greece-based TMS Cardiff Gas fleet.

The agreement extends the carrier's servicing relationship from a 2025 framework renewal that already covered seven LNGCs in the operator's pool. Both newbuilds entered service under TMS Cardiff Gas' fleet expansion programme, marking the operator's continued addition of large LNGC capacity.

What does the contract cover?

Wärtsilä will deliver four workstreams under the deal:

• Dynamic Maintenance Planning, which schedules overhauls against each vessel's trading pattern and arrival windows
• Expert Insight, a predictive maintenance platform that ingests real-time operating data
• Contract management with defined response lines
• 24-hour remote operational support

The group stated Expert Insight identifies potential equipment faults before they develop into failures. Dynamic Maintenance, separately, allows longer service intervals and reduces spare-parts consumption across the two vessels.

Which vessels are in scope?

Both ships carry Wärtsilä propulsion and auxiliaries as built, a configuration that opens single-vendor servicing of the main power plant:

• Two WinGD 5X72DF two-stroke dual-fuel main engines
• Four Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel auxiliary engines
• Wärtsilä gas valve units on the fuel gas supply system

Twin 174,000 m³ cargo tanks complete the package on each vessel.

Why does TMS Cardiff Gas need this now?

TMS Cardiff Gas deputy chief operating officer Alexandros Politis-Kalenteris anchored the decision to LNG market growth and the company's reliability targets.

"There is increasing global demand for LNG, and carrier operators place a high value on reliability," he said. "This is why this agreement with Wärtsilä is important to us."

Politis-Kalenteris added: "The existing agreement covering other vessels in our fleet has delivered a successful combination of technology, high-quality spare parts support and expert services, helping us maintain reliable and efficient operations."

He framed the expansion: "Extending this collaboration to these two newbuild vessels supports our goal of maximising availability and operational performance across the fleet."

How big is the wider fleet?

TMS Cardiff Gas operates within TMS, a manager of more than 140 vessels spanning LNG, crude and product tankers, LPG carriers, dry bulk and container ships. The gas-carrier arm also runs Wärtsilä's Fleet Optimisation Solution across its broader tonnage.

Wärtsilä describes the platform as a digital suite that combines performance analysis, voyage planning, real-time operational information and compliance management. TMS Cardiff Gas has used the tool since before the 2025 renewal, anchoring its reliability case in measurable vessel data.

What to watch

The five-year term resets the maintenance clock on the Al Thurayya and Al Majhoulah from delivery and locks the carriers into scheduled overhauls coordinated with their trading cycles. Watch item: how many further LNGC newbuilds enter TMS Cardiff Gas operations under the expansion programme, and when — if at all — the 2025 seven-vessel framework approaches its next renewal point.