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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.

Delegates at an international water industry conference learned that bearing selection plays a critical role in vertical turbine pump (VTP) performance, and that application, medium and bearing material should also be considered during pump manufacturing or refurbishment.

Thordon Bearings has been awarded a contract to supply seawater-lubricated bearings for installation to the first of two modified versions of the Harry DeWolf-class of Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels (AOPV). The new ships for the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) are on order and will be built at Irving Shipbuilding’s Halifax Shipyard. The CCG AOPV are versions of the six AOPV that Halifax Shipyard is building for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), all of which feature Thordon’s seawater-lubricated bearings.