Two South Korean fishing vessels installed Vesconite Hilube stern tubes and rudder bearings at Port Louis dry dock, Mauritius, in 2017.
The vessels, with a gross tonnage of 441 t and 578 t, 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 225 mm, an inner diameter of 170 mm and a length of 250 mm, while another had an outer diameter of 155 mm, an inner diameter of 75 mm and a length of 400 mm.
Other bushings, measuring 350 mm x 250 mm x 250 mm and 350 mm x 250 mm x 1,000 mm, 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,” said 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 are important,” he noted.
