Page 53: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2014)

www.marinelink.com 53At the end of June, a Hydrex team replaced the three leaking bow thruster shaft seals of a 400-m container ship in Gdansk, Poland. The operation was per- formed on-site and underwater using the company?s ß exible mobdocks. The ves- sel was able to continue its commercial activities without any delay. Together with all the necessary equip- ment, the diver/technicians mobilized from the Hydrex center in Antwerp to the vessel?s location. After they set up a monitoring station on the quay, the div- ers started the operation by removing the rope guard covering the thruster seals. They could then perform a detailed in-spection of the seal assembly and make a good assessment of the damage.The Hydrex ß exible mobdocks were installed at both ends of the thruster tun-nel. Next the team evacuated all water from the tunnel. In this manner a work-ing environment with drydock-like con-ditions was created. This is essential for any permanent seal replacement. The divers removed the Þ rst seal and re- placed it with a new one which was then bonded. This procedure was repeated with the other two damaged seals. All seals showed cuts at the underside.The operation ended with succesful leakage tests, the reinstallation of the rope guard and the removal of the ß ex-ible mobdocks. During the operation representatives of both the manufacturer of the shaft seals and the bow thruster OEM were present. Ultra large container vessels like this 400-meter one have a corresponding large thruster tunnel. This was however no problem because the Hydrex ß exible mobdocks can be eas- ily adapted to the circumstance. They can be used for a wide range of repair or maintenance work on all types and sizes of thrusters and vessels.www.hydrex.be Underwater Repairs for Mammoth ContainershipDiver/technician working on the shaft seal assembly. Hydrex making preparations for oper- ation on 400-meter container vessel.MR #8 (50-57).indd 53MR #8 (50-57).indd 538/4/2014 1:42:37 PM8/4/2014 1:42:37 PM