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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Thordon 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…

31 Jan 2024

Thordon Secures Mexican Navy Deal

(Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Thordon Bearings reports it has secured a second major Mexican Navy contract for the supply of its water-lubricated SXL wear rings for retrofit installation to the waterjet propulsion nozzles on 25 interceptor patrol vessels.The contract follows the success of extensive trials in which the SXL material replaced the use of other anti-corrosive coatings in waterjet impeller housings, resulting in increased resistance to cavitation induced corrosion.Rotary Parts, Thordon’s authorized distributor in Mexico, is supplying the housings for 25 Polaris and Polaris II fast patrol boats.

09 Jan 2024

Thordon Taps Bruntons as UK & Ireland Distributor

Bruntons Propellers’ facility in Clacton-on-Sea, United Kingdom (Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Canada-headquartered water-lubricated and grease-free seals and bearings company Thordon Bearings has appointed propeller manufacturer Bruntons Propellers as its new distributor for the U.K. and Ireland region.The propeller manufacturer will market, supply and service Thordon’s entire marine portfolio of propeller shaft bearings and seals. There is also provision for Bruntons to promote and service Thordon’s products in other market segments.Neil McDonald, Thordon Bearings’ Regional Manager…

04 Dec 2023

Thordon Bearings and Wärtsilä Promote Stern Tube-Less Ship Concept

Source: Thordon Bearings

Thordon Bearings and Wärtsilä have announced the formation of the Blue Ocean Alliance to develop and promote a stern tube-less ship concept.The Blue Ocean Alliance brings together Thordon Bearings, Wärtsilä, the School of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), naval architect SDARI (Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute CSSC) and ABS.The companies say that the concept of a ship design that does not require a…

05 Sep 2023

ClassNK Amends Rules for Seawater-lubricated Shafts

(Image: Thordon Bearings)

Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) has joined the major classification societies to amend its rules relating to the inspection of seawater-lubricated propeller shaft systems.The amendment means that ships with open seawater-lubricated propeller shafts that are built to ClassNK rules are subject to the same 15-year shaft withdrawal inspection periods as oil-lubricated shafts and sterntubes, subject to monitoring criteria.The announcement brings ClassNK’s requirements in line with those of other large class societies…

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…

26 Jun 2023

SUMED Taps Thordon to Equip Pipeline Service Boats

SUMED 4, is one of seven SUMED service boats fitted with Thordon SXL tailshaft bearings (Photo: Thordon Bearings)

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…

13 Mar 2023

Dredge Firms Focus on Sustainability as ESG Issues Climb Agenda

Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger - Vox Apolonia. Image courtesy Van Oord

Climate change, rising sea levels, land reclamation and offshore energy are all factors underpinning business models at Europe’s dredge and marine engineering majors. They are adopting strong sustainability credentials as their operations come under closer environmental, social, governance (ESG) scrutiny and new opportunities open up in the US offshore wind sectorThe relatively small number of global marine engineering and dredge firms face more observation of their business models than ever before.

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 Jun 2022

Thordon Wins Shaft Seals Order

The Judilily is now fitted with TG100 shaft seals (Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Thordon Bearings’ authorized distributor in Mexico, TZ Industrias, has secured an order to supply the Canadian company’s TG100 shaft seals, equipped with a safe return to port (SRTP) emergency seal, to a quartet of shrimpers operated by Pesquera Axel, one of the country’s leading fishing vessel operators.TZ Industrias will deliver four 127mm (5in) diameter mechanical seals to the Mazatlán-based repair yard Constructora y Reparadora de Buques for installation this June to the 7m (23ft) long fishing vessels Kukulkan…

08 Jun 2022

ABS AIP for "Sterntube-less" Ship

A sterntube-less ship features a shorter shaft with the prime mover further aft the vessel. Image courtesy Thordon Bearings

Thordon Bearings said ABS issued an Approval in Principle to the “sterntube-less ship” concept developed in cooperation with the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI), the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and Thordon Bearings Inc.The design replaces a vessel’s sterntube with an irregular shaped chamber that allows a shorter, water-lubricated propeller shaft to be inspected and maintained while the vessel is afloat, without having to withdraw…

01 Jun 2022

ABS Grants AIP to SDARI for Approach to Stern Tube Design

Illustration of the stern tube design awarded ABS AIP. (Image: SDARI)

ABS has granted Approval in Principle (AIP) to the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) for its vessel design with a novel aft layout, which eliminates pollution and promotes efficient vessel operations.The SDARI design, developed in cooperation with Thordon Bearings Inc. and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), introduces a new approach to the vessel’s aft layout, including removal of the stern tube casting, employing seawater for lubrication…

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…

07 Mar 2022

New Zealand's First Fully Electric Ship is a Zero Polluter Down Under

(Photo: Stellar Studio)

The southern hemisphere’s first fully electric, carbon fiber commuter ferry has successfully completed its inaugural round trip with a Thordon seawater lubricated propeller shaft arrangement supplied by New Zealand’s Henley Engineering.Ika Rere , Mãori for flying fish, joined the East by West fleet in December operating the company’s Wellington to Eastbourne route.Commenting on the ferry’s first trip, between West Queen’s Wharf and Days Bay, Henley Engineering Managing Director, Mark Power, said: “Ika Rere runs like a Tesla Model S! It’s fast, efficient, smooth and quiet.

14 Feb 2022

New Push Boat Delivered to Plimsoll Marine

(Photo: Plimsoll Marine)

Push boat operator Plimsoll Marine announced it has taken delivery of the fourth vessel in a series of newbuilds from Master Marine, Inc. “Plimsoll Marine strives to provide the Lower Mississippi River with premier push boat services utilizing the industry’s most modern and capable fleet of vessels. The delivery of the Steel Skipper marks another milestone in that effort,” said Angus R. Cooper III, President, Cooper/T. Smith. “Our ongoing investment in building and maintaining…

09 Feb 2022

Thordon Bearings Unveils New Water-lubricated Shaft Seal

(Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Thordon Bearings has debuted a new propeller shaft seal for the commercial shipping industry featuring a unique Safe Return to Port (SRTP) design.Completing the COMPAC open seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearing system, Thordon's new BlueWater Seal is described by the manufacturer as a cost effective, commercial grade axial lip seal specifically designed for merchant shipping fleets. It incorporates Thordon’s emergency SRTP capability, first used in the company’s TG100 and…

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.

20 Jan 2022

Thordon Bearings Bags 24-Seal Order

(Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Canadian manufacturer Thordon Bearings confirmed it has secured contracts to supply 24 TG100 propeller shaft seals to Drydocks World-Dubai and Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding and Repair yards for installation to six UAE Navy vessels. Each quad screw ship will operate a quartet of TG100 shaft seals.Rafid Qureshi, managing director of Dubai-based Ocean Power International (OPI), Thordon’s authorized distributor in the region, explained the award win was “a direct result of the yards’ recommendations”…

28 Oct 2021

Thordon Celebrates 110 Years in Business

The CCGS Martha L. Black is fitted with Thordon’s propeller shaft bearings, Water Quality Package and rudder bearings at Heddle Shipyards in dry dock (Photo: Thordno Bearings)

Navies, shipowners, shipyards, and organizations have offered the best of birthday wishes to Canada’s Thomson-Gordon Group, the parent company of water-lubricated polymer bearing pioneer Thordon Bearings, as it celebrates its 110th anniversary this fall.Among several well-wishers, Claude Tremblay, Directorate General Maritime Equipment Program Management National Defence, Royal Canadian Navy, wrote: “Congratulations to Thomson-Gordon Group for 110 years of Canadian innovation and pioneering. We are proud to rely on your top-quality products.

04 Oct 2021

Thordon Bearings Appoints New Technical Director

Tony Hamilton (left), Thordon’s new Technical Director and Michael Skrzypczak (right) Thordon’s new Global Service & Support Manager (Photo: Thordon Bearings)

Thordon Bearings, manufacturer of water-lubricated and grease-free polymer bearing technologies, has appointed Anthony Hamilton as its new Technical Director. Reporting directly to CEO Anna Galoni, Hamilton will lead the Burlington-headquartered company’s engineering, CAD and New Product Development teams.“We are delighted to welcome Tony to the Thordon family as we look to strengthen the company's product portfolio in existing and new markets,” said Galoni. “Tony is a seasoned solutions-based leader having held senior technical positions in the marine…

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…