Wartsila, a Finnish equipment provider for the marine and energy markets, has conducted an internal audit of test processes globally and revealed deviations in a limited number of fuel consumption tests of marine engines.
According to the company, the investigation has brought forward deviations in certain fuel consumption measurement tests conducted for marine engines in Wartsila Delivery Centre Trieste in Italy before customer dispatches.
The deviations are on average 1% of fuel consumption. Of all Wartsila engine deliveries, a total of 2% may have been affected, the Finnish company stated.
Engines for power plant customers are not impacted, and the company said it had no evidence of deviations in other operations.
“It is to be noted that the engines in question have fulfilled the regulatory and classification society requirements, and the potentially affected vessels have met sea trial requirements.
“According to our evaluation, the customer impact of the deviations is marginal,” Wartsila said on Monday.
In 2015, Wartsila’s marine engine sales represented 12% of annual group revenues. According to the estimate of Wartsila management, the financial impact of this issue is not material.
“Based on our current analysis, the deviations have been caused by a limited number of personnel, who have clearly acted against work instructions and our code of conduct by influencing the test results,” the company stated.
Wartsila also added that, in order to secure new and transparent processes and controls, the company has reviewed all test procedures, and taken immediate corrective actions where deviations have been found.
“Wärtsilä requires all its employees to act in accordance with internal guidelines as well as laws and regulations. We deeply apologise for any loss in trust caused by this violation to our policies and corporate values, and we will immediately start reaching out to our customers,” says President and CEO Jaakko Eskola , Wartsila Corporation.