Canola Oil News

Thordon Bearings has welcomed an industry initiative to evaluate the effect of biodegradable lubricants on sterntube bearings following a reported marked increase in sealed oil lubricated propeller shaft bearing failures. While many ship operators consider the rise in use of environmentally acceptable lubricants (EAL) a cure-all to meeting environmental regulations, particularly in waters where the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated the use of mineral oils, their performance as a propeller shaft bearing lubricant has come under increasing scrutiny. It is thought some EALs may impede bearing and seal performance, damaging critical components and compromising oil-tight integrity.

NYK has concluded a contract with United Green for partial ownership of a canola flower field along the Sanriku shoreline, an area that suffered extensive damage from the tsunami that accompanied the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. United Green is a general incorporated association that has implemented a recovery project involving canola flower fields in Kamaishi city in Iwate prefecture. To improve the landscape and help develop a sustainable regional industry, canola flowers have been planted in farmlands that had been damaged by salt or simply abandoned. This contract will make NYK an owner of a specific area of the canola flower field.

EcoLine 3220 and EcoLine 3690 are biobased and biodegradable coatings; developed to replace traditional oil based rust preventatives. Both products are designed for extended temporary protection of multimetals, and if needed could be easily removed using a biobased Ecoline Surface Cleaner/Degreaser, eliminating expensive disposal costs associated with oils. They provide excellent corrosion protection while being environmentally safe and completely non-hazardous. EcoLine 3220/3690 are improved replacements for flammable solvents and petroleum-based products which will continue to escalate in price. They are functionally superior and cost efficient, and at the same time completely safe to work with. They conform to NACE Standard RP0487-2000.

Fierce Arctic winds and towering 30-foot seas assaulted a 738-foot freighter with 20 crewmembers aboard finding themselves helplessly adrift with limited engine power in the midst of an ice-cold storm 70 miles north of Adak. Trouble loomed on the horizon as they were drifting toward land carrying more than 132,277 pounds of rape seed used to make canola oil, 450,000 gallons of fuel oil and 11,700 gallons of diesel fuel with the only help more than 400 miles away. In the midst of the Golden Seas’ voyage to the United Arab Emirates the crew experienced a turbo-charger failure Dec. 3 2010.

Transport Minister David Collenette today announced that the federal government has successfully prosecuted the MV Cape Benat, a Liberian-registered chemical tanker, for spilling canola oil in Vancouver Harbour. The pollution incident occurred while the vessel was loading canola crude oil at Vanterm, in the Port of Vancouver, on November 23 and 24, 1999. The MV Cape Benat is owned by the Cape Benat Navigation Company of Liberia and operated by Columbia Ship Management of Cyprus. The vessel was charged with unlawfully discharging a noxious liquid substance into Canadian waters, a violation of the Canada Shipping Act. The British Columbia Provincial Court imposed a $60,000 penalty on the vessel owner, the Cape Benat Navigation Company.

To the dismay of some oil companies, as well as oil, freight, and passenger shipping companies, a growing number of environmental prosecutors are seeking - and winning - fines and punishments they insist are high enough to deter pollution from deliberate or even accidental oil pollution. The U.S. consistently leads the world in such prosecutions, although Canada, Australia, and a growing number of European nations are following suit. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL), the world's second largest cruise operator, has been the most prominent catch - paying more than $27 million in fines in the U.S. over the past two years. In court, RCCL…