Stern Tube Oil Pollution

STERN TUBE OIL
POLLUTION(STOP)
A presentation by THORDON
BEARINGS,CANADA on the performance
of seawater lubricated stern tube
bearings-a proven available technology
that eliminates stern tube oil pollution.
INTRODUCTION
Pollution of worlds oceans is a matter of increasing International concern.

Zero tolerance is fast becoming the norm and the regulations are getting more
and more stringent.
Since 1998, in a decade, U.S. Courts have levied around $140m as criminal fines
against shipping companies that were found guilty of polluting U.S. Waters .
Majority of merchant ships still use a propeller shaft supported by oil lubricated
stern tube bearings with forward and aft shaft seals.
Simple fishing nets or ropes fouling propeller shafts also cause aft seal damage
allowing stern tube oil leak into the seas.
According to seal makers this happens on regular basis.
Typical ocean going ship has 1500 ltrs. Of stern tube oil.
At a conservative estimated leakage rate of 6 ltrs/day/ship (from LR Class
Society
Seal Type Approvals), the amount of leak is estimated to be over 80 million ltrs.
annually from normal operations.
In comparison, oil pollution from EXXON VALDEZ spill was 41.6m ltrs.
Using a proven, available technology, there is an alternative that

completely
eliminates stern tube oil pollution.
Introduction-Continued
A sea water lubricated open system uses sea water as the lubricating
medium instead of oil.
The sea water is taken from the sea, pumped through non metallic shaft
bearings and returns to the sea.
Proven materials and new designs of non metallic bearings now perform
similar to metal shaft bearings.
However the MS tail shaft requires corrosion protection which may mean
higher up-front cost.
This is in actuality is offset by lower-in-service costs due to the elimination
of aft seal maintenance.
Bonus point- There is no aft seal damage- no oil pollution fines
and no mental agony for ship staff/managers/owners.
Underwriters/Insurers/Flag states/Environmentalists/Unions etc. and
everyone related to the business of running ships should welcome and
encourage the idea.
OIL LUBRICATED STERN

TUBE
HISTORY
Over 50 years ago we had water cooled wooden Lignum-vitae bearings for
tail shafts called open system with only one shaft seal forward, preventing
water entering engine room. Sea water lubricated and cooled the stern tube
and water flowed back to sea.
However, in that era, sea water lubricated bearings did not have reliable
wear life limits much beyond 5 years. This meant withdrawl of shaft and
renewal of bearings -an expensive task.
In addition, most shaft seals used stuffing boxes and gland packing
which caused scoring of bronze shaft liners in way of packing. This meant,
skimming/replacement of liner another additional cost.
Improvements in oil seal technolgy in the 1950s resulted in oil cooled and
lubricated stern tube bearings (SIMPLEX ETC.) with reasonably reliable seals,
reduced bearing maintenance and controlled/predictable wear life.
However the forward and aft shaft seals remained a cause for worry.
STATEMENTS FROM MAJOR

SEAL MAKERS AND SEAL
REPAIRERS
WARTSILA PROPULSION (BEARINGS AND SEALS) UK.,
LARGE SHAFT SEAL MANUFACTURER
Consumption from the seal is controlled to the minimum acceptable to

maintain an acceptable life, but by design it is essential to have oil at the
mating surfaces. Oil consumption is always lost direct to the sea so
contaminating the environment. The best estimates can only be made
based on seals in a lab condition running in clean and controlled
environments but even this indicates an excess of 10,000,000 litres/year
of oil is lost. Many organisations predict far higher in reality but it is difficult
to prove with facts.
KOBELCO EAGLE MARINE ENGINEERING CO.,JAPAN-SEAL MAKER
In stern tube bearings, the radial movement of the shaft is considerably

larger than that of bearings for industrial application. In addition, external
disturbances such as rough seas and vibrations are considerable. It is
practically impossible to seal the stern tube oil perfectly. Therefore stern
tube luboil leakage is a serious environmental issue.
FURTHER STATEMENTS
BP- CASTROL MARINE LUBRICANTS-(A LARGE
SUPPLIER OF STERN TUBE OILS)
Environmental legislation can only get tougher, but even well maintained
and managed ships will still leak oil.
SIMPLEX AMERICAS LLC (MAJOR SEAL REPAIRER)
They repaired 21 stern tube seals in 2007.

This is the statistics of just one seal repair company in the world.
It gives an idea of the scope of problems that occur with seals.
In 2001,the European Commission DG Joint Research Centre reported on
ship pollution based on spaceborne SAR remote sensing. It revealed for
the first time the extent of pollution in Mediterranean Sea, not due to
accidents but from routine unauthorised operational discharges.
SOME ASSUMPTIONS
AN EYE OPENER
Commercial shipping considers this operational discharge normal

But we all know that this is detrimental for marine environment
Assume: 45,000 commercial ships (>1000DWT) presently in
operation worldwide (source: LR Fairplay PC Register).
Assume: 90% of these ships operate with oil lubricated stern tubes.
Assume conservative number: Average oil leakage = 6 Ltrs/day
(source: LR Type approvals for stern tube seals)
Assume: 330 working days/year (according to IMO)
A conservative estimate would be as follows:
45,000 ships x 0.90 x 6 Ltrs x 330 days = 80.19 million litres/year
of
stern tube oil from operational discharges.
Approximately 80 million litres annually.
This does not include oil lost from damaged stern tube seals
HOW TO ELIMINATE THIS POLLUTION?

Multi lip seals- This reduces the amount of oil that escapes, but shaft seals
can still be damaged and oil can still escape to the sea.
Biodegradeable oils- They are available in the market, but they still are an
oil and leave a sheen which is considered as pollution.
The third and the final option seems to be less conventional but simple
option using proven stern tube bearing technology from THORDON
BEARINGS. The simplest way to totally eliminate the oil is to use sea water
as lubricating medium and non metallic bearings in place of oil and white
metal bearings. The sea water is taken from the sea, pumped through the
bearings and returns to the sea. The sea water enters the forward section
of the stern tube just aft of the seal. The sea water passes through the
forward and then the aft bearing prior to re-entering the sea as shown in
the fig. The quality of the seawater used is critical in ensuring long wear
life. To ensure abrasives are removed from sea water supply, a water
quality package is used.
(Continued)
THORDON COMPAC SEAWATER

LUBRICATED STERN TUBE BEARINGS
HOW TO ELIMINATE THIS POLLUTION

(CONTINUED)
This package uses centrifugal forces to remove particulates from the sea water
stream, then collects it and discharges it through a blow down line.
Use of sea water lubricated bearings eliminates the aft seal, as well as the
storage, sampling and disposal of oil. The potential impact of stern tube
oil pollution is zero.
BENEFITS:
Zero pollution- A GREEN SOLUTION.
Inflow water meets smaller diameter and so wake peaks on propeller plane
are reduced.
Propeller efficiency observed to be improved (about 2%)
DESIGN CONSIDERATION:
Propeller shaft requires corrosion protection from sea water. Bronze or Stainless steel
liners generally fitted over the shaft in way of bearings.
Between the liners a waterproof flexible coating is applied. THOR-COAT
a 2-part epoxy shaft coating, which allows extension of shaft withdrawal periods
beyond 5 years. Coating life-about 10 years.
Currently there are over 500 commercial ships operating with THORDON sea water
lubricated propeller shaft bearings, since the first one fitted in 1983.
CUSTOMERS COMMENTS
The U.S., Canadian and Indian Coast Guard (Oil pollution enforcement
agencies) use Thordon bearings on over 65 ships since 1983.
Carnival Corporation, worlds largest cruise ship operator has COMPAC
bearings installed on 9 ships with 5 more on order. Their Technical Rep.
recently stated: Sea water lubricated bearings are the present for many
of our ships. I would like to see them fitted to all our future ships.
Besides no pollution worries COMPAC tapered key system allows inspection
of the bearing and shaft journal without pulling the shaft.
Todate our experience with COMPAC bearings with Inconel journals will mean
worry free shaft lines for the life of the vessel.
BEARING WEAR LIFE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION

The bearing wear life charts show actual and expected wear life for
COMPAC bearings. Based on these actual results THORDON bearings
can be expected to last for 15 to 20 years.
SEAWATER LUBRICATED BEARING

WEAR
FOR DISNEY MAGIC AFTER 10 YEARS
SEAWATER LUBRICATED BEARING

WEAR
FOR GRAND PRINCESS AFTER 9
YEARS
LOWER FRICTION THAN NORMAL

THORDON COMPAC bearings
Are designed to reduce running friction.
Improve low speed hydrodynamic film development.
The lower portion of the bearing is smooth.
Upper portion is designed with grooves for lubrication and cooling.
Start-up friction is initially higher.
But at rated shaft speeds drag on the rotating shaft resulting from
the
viscosity of the lubricating oil is lower with water than with oil. This
results in potential fuel savings.
Though higher up-front cost initially due to the need for corrosion
protection and bronze liners, it is recouped by lower in service cost.
Overall LIFECYCLE costs are reduced for the users.
CROSSOVER FRICTION CURVE

WATER vs OIL
CONCLUSION
Ship owners now must eliminate operational and accidental pollution
costs.
THORDON COMPAC bearings offer improved wear life.
Fitting and Monitoring methods meet Class approvals.
Performance is certainly comparable to that of white metal stern
tube
bearings.
Eliminates any risk of criminal, civil and administrative penalties.
Bad public relations of the owner is avoided.
THANK YOU

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STERN TUBE OIL

Pollution of worlds oceans is a matter of increasing International concern.

Using a proven, available technology, there is an alternative that

OIL LUBRICATED STERN

STATEMENTS FROM MAJOR

Consumption from the seal is controlled to the minimum acceptable to

KOBELCO EAGLE MARINE ENGINEERING CO.,JAPAN-SEAL MAKER

In stern tube bearings, the radial movement of the shaft is considerably

SIMPLEX AMERICAS LLC (MAJOR SEAL REPAIRER)

They repaired 21 stern tube seals in 2007.

Commercial shipping considers this operational discharge normal

HOW TO ELIMINATE THIS POLLUTION?

THORDON COMPAC SEAWATER

HOW TO ELIMINATE THIS POLLUTION

BEARING WEAR LIFE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION

SEAWATER LUBRICATED BEARING

SEAWATER LUBRICATED BEARING

LOWER FRICTION THAN NORMAL

CROSSOVER FRICTION CURVE

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