Page 15: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2018)

or worse yet haul the vessel out of the Most modern cutters do not cause a water to conduct repairs. signi? cant amount of drag or reduction

Shaver cutters are line cutters that in speed. In addition most can be in- work by continuously shaving rope, line stalled as an after market add on while in or other debris caught by the propeller. the shipyard, without a signi? cant cost.

As a concept, this is a radical departure Risks of not installing this equipment from scissor and disc designs which at- can be catastrophic. One such case in- tempt to slice clear through line or rope volved a cruise vessel which had two at ? rst strike. azipods entangled.

Shavers employ ? xed position vertical This job cost upwards of $800,000 for blades that skim closely over a cylindri- each azipod. Unfortunately however the cal, smooth surfaced concentric rotat- work did not end there. With the seal ing spool. The spool serves a number rupture there was a resultant loss of non-

Photo: Spurs Marine Mfg.

of important functions. First, line is pre- bio friendly lubricant in to the water, vented from sliding off the propeller hub the blade edges. With this arrangement peller, a shaver cutter has excellent pros- which necessitated a cleanup as well as a and wind onto the shaft. Second, line is debris has no alternative other than to be pects of freeing the propeller. Faced with reporting to the coastal authorities. This prevented from radial slipping. Third, cut away. a simple entanglement involving a single whole situation could have been avoided to cause rotating line to press lathe-like On a typical shaver line cutter, there ? oating rope or line, a skipper probably for a price of approximately $15,000.

against stationary radial cutting blades. is at least one forward and one reverse would be unaware the cutter had done its Although not yet in widespread use,

The result is a substantial portion of line blade, so the debris is cut no matter which job. propeller cutters can prevent signi? cant is progressively rendered harmless as it direction the propeller turns. Faced with Using this type of cutter, a skipper’s damage and downtime to vessels. As is converted to shavings. The blade an- a severe propeller entanglement such as prospects of keeping a vessel’s propel- my mentor, Captain Michael DeCharles, gles are positively raked and rapidly re- a large cluster of rogue rope, line, or net, ler free of rope or line are signi? cantly always says “pay me now, or pay me move line whenever line presses against by rotating and counter-rotating the pro- improved. later.”

Benefits of Bardex

Chain ShipLift &

Transfer Systems

Safety • The safest, most dependable ShipLift system in the world • Bardex Chain ShipLift systems never drop ships • Chains do not hide internal corrosion like wire rope • Chain ShipLift uses two chains at each lift point for redundancy • Chain ShipLifts offer simple, reliable synchronization

Efficiency • Proven chain life of 15-20 years • Lower capital cost of lift equipment and associated civil works • Compact design, uses smaller diameter piles, and less concrete reinforcement means less pier & deck space requirements than wire rope winch systems • Lower maintenance costs — no annual destructive tests of wire ropes & no replacement requirement of all ropes every 5 years

Experience • 50+ year history providing ShipLift systems • Strong engineering team with over 100 years combined experience with ShipLifts • In-house lifecycle support — experienced field service engineers supporting from concept, construction, and installation to end-of-life +1 805 964 7747 [email protected] www.bardex.com www.marinelink.com 15

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