White Metal News

Egypt’s SUMED pipeline operator Arab Petroleum Pipeline Company (SUMED) has completed the tailshaft conversion to Thordon’s SXL seawater-lubricated bearing system for seven special purpose single point mooring (SPM) service boats.The final vessel in a series of 17.5m (57.4ft) long, 1976–built service boats had its original oil-lubricated tailshaft bearings replaced with the Thordon system at Nefertiti Marine’s Yard-K, in Rosetta Nile, in December 2022. The first vessel, SUMED 10…

Michell Bearings has announced the opening of a U.S sales and engineering office in Fort Washington, Philadelphia.The office opening follows the incorporation of the U.S business, Michell Bearings Inc., in 2021 to better support customers in North America, especially those in the U.S. naval industry.Key contacts in the Fort Washington office are Joseph Wilkes, VP Engineering Americas, and Jamie Wright, Sales Director Americas—both with many years of experience in the field of hydrodynamic bearings and long established relationships with customers in the U.S.

When the stern tube bearing on the 490' x 75' container ship M/V Marine Rickmers began to fail, Durban, South Africa-based Elgin Brown & Hamer (EBH South Africa) replaced it with state-of-the-art, pollution-free Vesconite. The innovative self-lubricating polymer is far superior to oil-lubricated lignum vitae, white metal and composite bearings, especially with the implementation of ever more stringent environmental regulations.Vesconite doesn't swell in water and machines to +/-0.001", so tight tolerances are always ensured.

The proper lining of ballast tanks is essential and critical to ship safety. Not too many decades ago, ships traveling the North Atlantic routes were experiencing terrible losses from outright sinking in the turbulent seas. It was eventually discovered that the primary culprit was hull failure from ballast tanks rupturing from the inside out due to simple, plain old-fashioned rusting and galvanic corrosion. The U.S. Navy led the way and came up with a recommended formula, or recipe, for a ballast tank coating that paint manufactures could copy in bidding for Navy business.

A total of 5,300 gallons of Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings ensures that one of Washington’s most valuable assets will provide service for years to come. With a longstanding history of ferry operation in the Puget Sound, Washington State Ferries (WSF) was in need of a coatings company with just as strong of a reputation when preserving the 3,634-ton M/V Kaleetan auto/passenger ferry in the summer of 2015. Built in 1967 in San Diego, Calif., the M/V Kaleetan – which means “arrow” in Chinook – first went into service in early 1968 and was rebuilt in 2005.

Harris Pye Engineering Group completed repair works during the two-stage multi-million dollar Diamond Offshore demobilization project for its semi-sub rig Ocean Endeavor from the Black Sea, which completed its contract in January 2016. The initial phase of the repair work, which started in December 2015, while the rig was offshore Constanta, Romania involved cleaning of mud, brine, base oil and skimmer tanks. Steel repairs were carried out on a main column blister. The removal of three Seatrax crane pedestals…

Dry dock pontoon deck preservation is often taken for granted. In the flow of ever changing priorities for dry docks, it often gets pushed aside and/or delayed. If neglected long enough and often enough between preservation cycles, the thickness of the pontoon deck steel plates can be compromised. Salt water with chloride contamination causes accelerated corrosion while impact and abrasion damage from heavy equipment also take their toll. For shipyards, the overall objective should be to provide a protective surface that will hold up over time, and that is easy to clean.

In the Marine industry, cavitation commonly occurs on hydrofoils, rudders, stabilizers, as well as on propulsion systems. Cavitation damage can lead to severe erosion problems and render equipment useless if left untreated. Millions are spent every year on replacing equipment damaged by cavitation. This is not only expensive and time consuming, but the like for like replacement solution will not solve the problem. Repair methods involving welding will not stop the problem from reoccurring either, and the heat introduced can cause HAZ (Heat Affected Zones) and stress corrosion cracking.

Safer than safe could be dubbed the term that sums up the design philosophy on four 185,000 dwt Alaskan-class tankers that will soon be carrying oil along the U.S. West Coast. Currently being built in San Diego, Calif. by NASSCO, the BP Shipping-owned vessels feature the latest innovations in safe-ship design, including Thordon COMPAC water-lubricated propeller shaft bearings. During the design phase of the vessels, BP was determined to leave no stone unturned in its quest to minimize the risk of oil leakage. This included building in multiple redundant systems, and eliminating the use of oil wherever possible. "The prop shaft is an area where, traditionally, some lubricating oil can leak into the sea," says Stan Taylor, technical manager for BP.

San Juan Towing & Marine Services announces the upcoming arrival of the floating dry dock PERSEVERANCE which has been purchased for service in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean Sea and is in the main shipping lanes leading west to the Panama Canal. San Juan Towing & Marine Services is a ship repair contractor that provides a variety of ship repair services in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The purchase and development of a drydocking facility comes as a second step in order to provide expanded services in the Caribbean. PERSEVERANCE is currently located in New Orleans being upgraded prior to being towed down to San Juan in late October. PERSEVERANCE is a 150 foot long x 70 foot wide drydock capable of lifting vessels of up to 1000 tons.

When usability, reliability and durability are important for ship repair and maintenance applications, Arcon's Workhorse Stick/TIG welding machine is a strong solution. Designed for shipyard use, the machine employs electrical and mechanical technology proven reliable in over 100,000 machines sold and used worldwide. The Seahorse option protects against corrosive salt-water residue and proved effective in extensive use on oil rigs in the North Sea. Components are dipped and even encapsulated to resist harmful elements. From Bug-O Systems comes the Light'n Bug multipurpose burning and welding travel carriage that runs at precise speeds from four to 85 (IPM). This lightweight machine can produce high quality cuts and bevels, and uniform welds.

The newest buzz among offshore operators serving the oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is the increased use of methanol (CH3OH) by oil companies and contract drillers. This has meant more work for supply boats carrying this alcohol product to rigs along with rig water, fuel oil and liquid and bulk mud. Methanol is used to keep the flow lines from the wellhead to the surface of the water from becoming restricted or blocked. Restricted flow from wells is becoming an increasing problem for oil companies and drilling contractors whose bottom line depends on getting every drop of oil from a well. Flow assurance is a critical issue, especially with longer tiebacks in deepwater drilling operations.