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Bearings News

15 Feb 2024

Is Stern Tube Damage Declining?

Shaft removal during stern tube repair procedures courtesy of Marine and Industrial Transmissions.
Photo courtesy Marine and Industrial Transmissions

It might be easy to blame EALs, but the ongoing causes of stern tube damage are varied, and possibly declining.Environmentally Acceptable lubricants (EALs) gained market traction with the introduction of US VGP regulations in 2013. Since then, DNV has observed two major trends. The first, starting in 2013 was early life damage, either during sea trials or within the first five years of operation, where aft stern tube bearings typically failed under extreme load conditions. Then from around 2018…

10 Jul 2023

Thordon Optimizes Workboat Rudder with New Bearing Combo

ThorPlas-Blue bearings installed in an articulating rudder with Thorseals in-situ - Credit: Thordon Bearings

When a 9,280hp workboat returned to service following extensive repairs at the James Marine Paducah River Service yard in Kentucky, U.S.A., it marked the first application of Thordon’s new seal-embedded bearing to an articulating rudder, Thordon Bearings said Monday. Articulating rudders are unlike conventional rudders and can be more costly to repair when things go wrong. They are more susceptible to wear and tear, due to the higher operating pressures and abrasives, and as a result…

08 Nov 2022

Thordon Bearings Installed on ADNOC Offshore Platform

Credit: Thordon Bearings

Thordon Bearings said Monday that its water-lubricated elastomeric polymer bearings have been  installed to well pumps aboard an undisclosed offshore oil platform operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).Five KSB three-stage mixed flow impeller-type pumps were each retrofitted  with Thordon pump bearings - 13 SXL intermediate bearings, four Composite bearings and a single SXL throttle bearing -  replacing the  original silicon carbide bushes, the company said.Dubai-based engineering firm Ocean Power International (OPI)…

08 Sep 2022

Water Lubricated Propeller Shaft Bearings Reduce Fuel Use -Study

(Image: Thordon Bearings)

Peer-reviewed research by Thordon Bearings into the hydrodynamic lubrication efficiency of a ship’s propeller shaft bearing has found that the use of seawater-lubricated elastomeric polymer bearings reduces fuel consumption.The environmental and financial benefits of adopting a seawater-lubricated propeller shaft system are well documented, but this is the first indication that the arrangement reduces hydrodynamic resistance enough to improve fuel consumption, compared to a conventional…

23 Aug 2022

Thordon’s SXL Bearings Installed on History-making Ferry Daleela

Thordon Bearings’ Egyptian distributor and integrated services provider Nefertiti Marine has commissioned the water lubricated Thordon SXL propeller shaft bearings installed aboard the 24,112gt ferry Daleela.The 1991-built, 400-passenger capacity RoPax, owned by El-Etehad International and chartered to Scandro Holdings, began operations on the revived Piraeus–Limassol route in June 2022 following an extensive refit in the floating dock operated by the Suez Shipyard in Egypt.Nefertiti Marine supplied a total of 14 Thordon SXL forward…

27 May 2022

US Navy Taps GA-EMS to Study Propulsor Bearing Concept Designs

(File photo: Mark Turney / U.S. Navy)

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) said on Friday it has been awarded a task order from Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD) to conduct a manufacturing assessment of several new propulsor bearing concept designs for U.S. Navy submarines. The task order is under the Propulsor Demonstration Hardware (PDH) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract previously awarded to GA-EMS.“Manufacturing feasibility evaluations such as this are crucial steps in determining whether a new concept design will deliver greater performance…

12 Apr 2022

Thordon Bearings Wins Order from Maritime Partners

(Image: Thordon Bearings)

Thordon Bearings Reports it has secured a contract to supply a range of water-lubricated and grease-free bearings for installation to several fleet boats under construction at the FMT Shipyard & Repair facility, for workboat owner Maritime Partners.Twelve twin-screw push boats are scheduled to be delivered from the Louisiana shipyard with equipment that includes RiverTough tailshaft bearings, ThorPlas-Blue rudder bearings with Pucker Seals, ThorPlas-Blue steering linkage bushings…

31 Jan 2022

Canadian Icebreaker's Thordon Bearings Stand the Test of Time

CCGS Griffon carrying out icebreaking duties in the Port of Midland, Ontario (Photo: Thordon Bearings)

A Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) icebreaker is helping to keep shipping moving on the Great Lakes throughout the winter with a set of Thordon Bearings’ propeller shaft bearings that were fitted more than 30 years ago.Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Griffon, the oldest vessel of the CCG’s Type 1100 series, was retrofitted with a set of four Thordon XL polymer stave bearings in 1990, 20 years into her service life. Sister ships received Thordon bearings from new throughout the 1980s.

05 Aug 2021

Profile: Anna Galoni CEO, Thordon Bearings

Anna Galoni CEO Thordon Bearings TG Group. Photo courtesy Thordon Bearings

While new to the CEO seat, Anna Galoni is long-tenured at Thordon Bearings, having worked in the company for more than 15 years, joining the Burlington, Ontario-company in 2007 after graduating from Queens University with a Masters’ Degree in Epidemiology. The new leader of this family-owned company, Galoni shares her insights on the business and technology.Thordon Bearings is a, global business which designs and manufactures a range of non-polluting, oil and grease-free bearing systems…

20 Jul 2021

Maritime Reporter TV: Interview with Anna Galoni, CEO of Thordon Bearings

Maritime Reporter TV's Greg Trauthwein has interviewed Anna Galoni, the recently appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Thordon Bearings Inc., a Thomson-Gordon Group company.Galoni joined the Burlington, Ontario-headquartered company in 2007 after graduating from Queens University with a Masters’ Degree in epidemiology.

30 Mar 2021

Atria Retrofits Its Paraná Push Boat Fleet with Thordon Bearings

A Thordon SXL rudder bearing replaces a rubber bearing on an Atria Logistics UABL vessel (Photo: Thordon)

One of South America’s leading push boat operators is on its way to completing a fleet-wide retrofit to Thordon’s water lubricated tailshaft and rudder bearings.In 2014, Argentinian owner Atria Logistics UABL, which operates a fleet of workboats on the Paraná River, installed Thordon’s RiverTough tailshaft bearings to its first push boat, the 135-foot-long Concepcion. In 2020, six more vessels in the company’s 26-strong fleet were converted.Egnard Bernal, Thordon Bearing’s Business Development Manager…

11 May 2020

Mactech Adds Thordon Portfolio

Thordon’s ThorPlas-Blue tiller arm and linkage bearings were machined and installed by Mactech on a towing vessel for a project that they partnered on in 2018 (Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Mactech Inc has joined Thordon Bearings’ global network of sales and service agents to support the Canadian manufacturer in the Wisconsin, Michigan, Chicago, Minnesota and the USA Great Lakes areas.Mactech develops and manufactures its own product line for in-field machining and has an active on-site service division, however, it is the first time the company has agreed to partner with another manufacturer.The Minnesota-headquartered leader in portable machining, measuring and…

04 May 2020

Canyon Marine Secures First Orders for Thordon

Reece Fullerton (Photo courtesy of Thordon Bearings)

Canyon Marine Solutions has been approved as an authorized distributor for Thordon Bearings.The Virginia-based engineering firm will provide sales and engineering support to Thordon’s complete portfolio of marine bearing and seal products in the states of Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia.Canyon Marine Solutions, which officially began representing the company on April 1st has already secured a major order for Thordon Bearings. The company…

26 Feb 2020

EU Shipyards Specify Grease-Free Bearing System

Canadian provider of polymer bearing solutions Thordon Bearings said that its ThorPlas-Blue has established itself as the bearing of choice for deck equipment, with European shipyards and owners frequently specifying the grease-free bearing system as standard for vessels’ winches, fairleads, davits, capstans and windlasses.According to a press note from Thordon Bearings, Sweden’s Falkvarv AB, Oresund Dry Docks, and the Oskarshamnsvarvet shipyard have been particularly strong proponents of the grease-free bearing, with these yards maintaining an inventory of ThorPlas-Blue stock with which to replace worn and costly bronze bearings and bushings when vessels drydock for repairs.

10 Oct 2019

Aker Arctic Wins Finnish Navy Supply Deal

3D renderings courtesy of Finnish Defense Forces

The Finnish Defense Forces Logistics Command and Aker Arctic Technology Inc. recently signed a contract for the design, delivery and integration of complete propulsion lines to four Pohjanmaa-class multi-role corvettes for the Finnish Navy. Construction of the vessels is scheduled to begin in 2022 and the four-strong squadron will achieve operational readiness in 2028.Aker Arctic’s scope of delivery includes ice-strengthened controllable pitch propellers and their pitch control mechanisms, propeller shafts, bearings and shaft seals.

04 Oct 2019

Global Tiger Success for Thordon Bearings

Photo: Thordon Bearings

Canadian company Thordon Bearings has notched up another success story for a customer in the demanding offshore sector, with a bearing and seal installation in “perfect condition” after over three years of operation.Global Tiger, operated by UAE-based Global Marine Co is a 42m (138ft) crew/supply vessel currently in service in the Middle East. It is one of a pair of all-aluminium crewboats built by Grandweld of Dubai in 2015/2016. The vessel, with 83-person capacity, is powered by a triple-screw Caterpillar propulsion plant…

05 Sep 2019

Polymer Pioneer Wins Sperry Award

Thomson onboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Hudson with SeaThigor mechanical face seal installed.

 (Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Thordon Bearings’ founder and polymer materials pioneer George A. (Sandy) Thomson has been awarded the global transportation sector’s most distinguished accolade, the Elmer A. Sperry Award 2019 for “Advancing the Art of Transportation”.Thomson joins a long list of Sperry Award recipients, which was established in 1955, including Donald Douglas, Ferdinand Porsche, Sir Geoffrey De Havilland, Christopher Cockerell, Leonard Hobbs, Perry Pratt, Josef Becker and Malcom McLean.“I am deeply honored and humbled to win this award…

20 Jun 2019

World's First Hybrid Bearing Life Model from SKF

Photo: SKF

Called the Generalized Bearing Life Model (GBLM), its development will ensure that SKF customers and distributors choose the right bearing for the right application, every time.Until now, it has been difficult for engineers to predict whether a hybrid bearing will outperform a steel one in a given application, or whether the possible performance benefits that hybrid bearings enable are worth the extra investment they require. The conventional equations engineers use to calculate the rating life of a bearing do not reflect the real-world performance of hybrid designs.To rectify this issue…

30 Oct 2018

Thordon Advises on VGP Delay

Photo: Thordon Bearings

Thordon Bearings has advised its customers with newbuilds under construction to make sure they have the necessary documentation in place permitting operations in U.S. waters prior to 18th December 2018.The advice follows the October 10 announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the 2013 Vessel General Permit, due to expire in December 2018, will now be administratively continued till at least March 2019, when an updated version, VGP 3.0, will be introduced.“The delay in introducing VGP 3.0 means that operators of existing vessels looking to operate in U.S.

17 May 2017

Hendry Marine Launches Business Development Team

Kristen Chittenden (Photo: Hendry Marine Industries)

U.S. tug-barge shipyard Hendry Marine Industries, Inc., (HMI) has launched a new business development team, with Kristen Chittenden appointed Director of Business Development, and Eric Smith named VP & Chief Commercial Officer. Chittenden and Smith will work closely with Hendry Marine’s CEO and president, Jim Long, the executive leadership team and its various subsidiaries to set company strategy and develop new business opportunities. Chittenden has served as Associate General Counsel for Hendry Marine for the past three years…