News

Thordon Bearings is to retrofit its grease-free ThorPlas-Blue bearings to ForSea Ferries’ Tycho Brahe, one of the world’s most environmentally friendly ships, at its next scheduled drydocking. The decision follows the success of the bearing installation to the bow doors of Aurora, the first of two high-intensity battery-operated ferries converted by Sweden’s Oresund Drydocks and delivered in 2016. It was the first ever installation of a Thordon self-lubricating bearing to the bow doors of a ro-ro ferry.

A series of well-attended webinar conferences broadcast during the first Covid lockdown has resulted in Thordon Bearings securing a contract from a Mexican fishing vessel operator. Thordon’s SXL rudder bearings were installed on the 1174gt Grupomar-operated fishing vessel María Luisa at the Mexican Navy Dry Dock in Manzanillo, Mexico, marking the Canadian bearing manufacturer’s entry into Mexico’s expansive tuna fishing fleet.

Umm Al Anber, a 72m (236ft) heavy duty cutter suction dredger operated by Abu Dhabi-based National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) has completed the refurbishment of its cutterhead shaft bearings as part of an extensive refit at Dubai Maritime City. Thordon Bearings’ Dubai-based distributor for the Middle East, Ocean Power International LLC (OPI), replaced the cutterhead and intermediate line shaft bearings like-for-like with Thordon’s water-lubricated Composite system. The turnkey project included shaft dismantlement, laser alignment, in-situ line boring, calibration, installation and commissioning.

Venables Machine Works Ltd., a large manufacturing and machining firm based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, has been appointed as an authorised distributor and service provider for Thordon Bearings’ industrial bearings portfolio. The formal agreement follows a ten-year collaboration in which Venables provided sales and engineering support to Thordon’s customers across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

New Zealand’s Genesis Energy has completed a first phase refurbishment of the 190MW hydro power plant at Lake Tekapo, in the South Island. Through its Auckland-based distributor Henley Group, Thordon supplied ThorPlas-Blue wicket gate bushes, Thorseal lip seals (which replaced nitrile rubber sealing rings in the lower and intermediate wicket gate bearings), and SXL operating ring wear pads. A new SXL turbine guide bearing, upgraded with better tolerances, was designed, supplied and installed. The shaft seal carbon segments were also replaced with SXL segments.

Amelia Ray, the 1600hp push boat Rodriquez Shipbuilding delivered to Mississippi operator L&L Marine Transportation in June, is now operational with a full range of Thordon oil-free and grease-free bearings designed to reduce a vessel’s lost charter days.