Two South Korean fishing vessels installed Vesconite Hilube stern tubes and rudder bearings at Port Louis dry dock, Mauritius, last month and the month before. The vessels, with a gross tonnage of 441t and 578t, came into the port separately, with a week’s interval between their entries.
It was determined that stern tube and rudder bearing replacement was required, and the vital hollow tube-like structures that connect the ship’s engine to the propeller and assist with steering as well as tubes that allow for the free movement of the rudder were ordered from Johannesburg, South Africa.
The one Vesconite Hilube bushing had an outer diameter of 225mm, an inner diameter of 170mm and a length of 250mm, while another had an outer diameter of 155mm, an inner diameter of 75mm and a length of 400mm.
Other bushings, measuring 350mm x 250mm x 250mm and 350mm x 250mm x 1000mm, were also ordered.
“The repairer was happy that Vesconite Bearings’ Johannesburg warehouse was able to deliver the stern tubes and rudder bearings within a day of their being dispatched,” says technical consultant Eddie Swanepoel.
“The cost of a ship being in dry dock is considerable, as is the cost of lost fishing production, so delivery times of essential components is important,” he notes.
Port Louis, Mauritius