Ecuador’s foremost tuna fishing operator NIRSA has completed a project to convert the tailshaft seals and bearings aboard the 1973-built tuna vessel BP EL Marquez to a seawater-lubricated package from Thordon Bearings.
In total, four Thordon SXL propeller shaft bearings and a pair of TG100 mechanical shaft seals, each of which features Thordon’s emergency-safe-return-to-port(SRTP) capability, replaced a competitor’s seawater-lubricated bearings and stuffing box after the shaft had suffered early wear due to gland packing. Bronze shaft liners were also included in the Thordon scope of supply in what marked a significant retrofit project that required the renewal of shafts, sterntubes, seals and bearings.
The new Thordon seal and bearing arrangement was retrofitted to the 41m(135ft) vessel’s 2m(78in) long, 203mm(8in) diameter tailshafts in January, at the Astinave EP shipyard in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Thordon’s local distributor, Inrioch, provided technical support.
NIRSA, which operates fourteen tuna boats, seven sardine boats and eight smaller fishing vessels wanted a cleaner, more reliable propeller shaft arrangement.
In addition to zero pollution risk, Thordon’s seawater-lubricated elastomeric polymer bearings deliver a lower friction coefficient and early hydrodynamic film development. This creates an acoustically quieter bearing with a smoother shaft rotation that operators find reduces fuel consumption and doesn’t scare the fish away!
Inrioch is now working with NIRSA on a plan to replace the bearings on a further two fishing vessels. In addition to converting their propeller shaft bearings to the SXL material, the greased bronzed bearings used in the vessels’ deck equipment are expected to be replaced with Thordon’s ThorPlas-Blue material in the coming months.
In addition to owning the largest fishing fleet in Ecuador, NIRSA operates port facilities, fish processing plants and produces the ‘Real’ brand of canned tuna. Last year the company was awarded, for the second consecutive year, an ESR Distinction as Latin America’s most socially responsible company.