HSA Marine, which provides pilotage and a fleet of vessels catering to commercial shipping, oil and gas support and port services, operates out of Fremantle, Bunbury, Port Dennison and Onslow in Western Australia. The company has recently taken delivery of a new pilot boat named Genesis, powered by a pair of Scania V8 engines.

Eddie Wolsoncroft, HSA Marine’s Operations Manager says Genesis is a Southerly Design built by Dongara Marine. “Genesis is off to a great start. The finished product is of exceptional quality with reliability and performance to match,” he says. The engines are a pair of Scania DI 16 76 M V8 16.4-litre units and are the 13th and 14th engines Scania has supplied to the HSA Marine fleet. This vessel was specified with Scania engines at the behest of HSA Marine based on a long-standing relationship with Scania and on the expected in-service reliability, and the performance improvement of fuel consumption compared with non-Scania after just a short time in the water. Eddie confirms that the engines are performing exceptionally well. “The new Scania V8 engines have exceeded our expectations in terms of performance and fuel use. Exact fuel comparisons are hard to obtain this early in the vessels operation, but based on figures so far, we can safely say that the new V8s are delivering a saving of 20-30% compared with the non-Scania powered designs.”

Adding Scania engines to the fleet of hard-working vessels gives HSA Marine a range of benefits that has cemented Scania as a preferred supplier for its new vessels, as well as being selected for repowering older vessels as this becomes due. A repower is currently underway to install a pair of DI 13 77M engines in another multi-purpose vessel. “There are many reasons why we are specifying Scania,” Eddie says. “Some of these are ‘cost-of-life maintenance’, the after sales support and technical assistance we receive, and the availability of spare parts are very good on the rare occasion they are needed,” he says.

“We definitely benefit from the Scania modular components programme which means there is a high degree of commonality across the engine range. This means spare parts are easily available, reducing the need to stock a huge inventory of spares. The engines use the same oils, and have common filtration across the broad range of engine options,” Eddie says.

“We have a very strict oil analysis programme. Using the same oils, filters and fuel supply allows us to really hone in on preventative maintenance and this will alert us to any anomalies should they occur.

“Also, the Scania Marine and industrial engine technicians and experts, James Rischmueller and Jeremy Tennant, provide excellent backup and support.

“The Scania dealers we work with go above and beyond to make themselves available to assist us with any enquiries or technical requests. André Arm, the National Manager for Scania Marine, and Jeremy Tennant, Scania’s Technical Sales Manager are just a phone call away if we need them,” Eddie says.

“The support network for our Scania engines, which includes Rob at Taylor’s Mechanical and Marine, and Paul at Marmino Marine, are extremely reliable and professional technicians.

“Fundamentally, product performance and reliability is key in our industry, and Scania delivers here,” Eddie says.

According to André Arm, Scania has won its spurs with HSA Marine over several years of reliable operation, with the additional benefit of a significant fuel consumption reduction from the modern, high-precision Scania engines. as well as building a solid relationship with them. “We pride ourselves on delivering state-of-the-art technology that has been developed with the aim of reducing operating costs for our customers,” André says.

“We are always looking at ways to reduce fuel consumption, but never at the expense of powerful performance or reliability.

“Pilot boats demand high levels of uptime and reliability because they operate at all times of the day and in all sorts of weather, so there’s no room for complacency.

“We are very pleased to be able to supply engines for HSA Marine’s new builds, and being tasked with repowering older vessels is a further seal of approval for Scania,” he says.