Innovator develops ship oil-leakage analysis tool
Maritime industry welcomes pollution-preventing oil savings calculator
New pollution-preventing technology has been developed which could make a significant impact on the amount of oil being leaked by ships into the world’s oceans.
Thordon Bearings, a pioneer in the production of pollution-free bearing designs, develops seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearing systems for maritime vessels. The Canadian company's innovative designs are increasingly recognised by commercial owners and managers as a reliable, environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional oil-lubricated stern tube systems for major cargo, tanker, bulk carrier and cruise ship vessels.
Industry figures indicate that about 90 per cent of all seafaring vessels currently use oil-lubricated stern tubes which, on average, leak six litres of oil every day - the equivalent of 57 million litres of oil pollutant ending up in the ocean every year.
Although stern tube oil leakage has traditionally been considered common operating practice, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is urging new build vessel operators to use seawater-based systems for their stern tube lubrication to eliminate oil discharge into the ocean environment. And the IMO Polar Code, which comes into effect in 2017, insists that polar regions will be 'zero discharge' areas for oil and noxious liquids.
Recently, Bureau Veritas, DNV GL, Lloyd's Register and China Classification Society have modified rules for open seawater lubricated propeller shaft systems - allowing the shaft to remain in place providing monitoring conditions are met - which removes a major obstacle for ship owners in converting to water-based propeller shaft bearing systems.
Now Thordon Bearings has developed a new tool which can calculate the amount of operational oil which is prevented from leaking into the ocean through the installation of a seawater-lubricated shaft bearing system. The Oil Savings Calculator - described as a bespoke modelling tool - was officially launched on Friday 22 April to coincide with Earth Day 2016, the world's largest environmental movement.
The oil saving calculation is based on the detailed statistical analysis of the number of maritime vessels that have been built with or converted to seawater lubrication, together with the 300 days that a vessel is typically at sea and the average daily oil leakage from ships (six litres). This analysis indicates that seawater lubrication technology has already saved more than 60 million litres of oil pollution.
"In our opinion the only acceptable propeller shaft stern tube oil leakage is zero," says Terry McGowan, president and chief executive officer at Thordon Bearings. “Thanks to those vessels that have already installed seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearings, over 60 million litres of stern tube oil has been saved from entering our oceans, seas, lakes and rivers.
"The Oil Saving Calculator is updated constantly and will continue to track our contribution to removing stern tube oil from our waters with the greater goal of completely eliminating this source of pollution.”
Although most commercial vessels continue to use an oil-lubricated propeller shaft bearing system, the Ontario-based maritime innovator believes the shipping industry is undergoing a technology transition which will eventually see pollution-free seawater solutions replace oil-lubricated systems.
The new pollution-saving calculation initiative is welcomed by the International Tanker Pollution Federation (ITOPF), the world's largest ship owner organisation. The federation supports measures to help members meet high environmental standards. "We support the maritime industry in its efforts to reduce ship-sourced pollution and provide for more sustainable marine operations," says Dr Karen Purnell, ITOPF managing director.
Ship owners can monitor the positive impact of seawater-lubrication on the marine environment by checking the Oil Saving Calculator counter at www.thordonbearings.com
Sources:
http://thordonbearings.com/posts/118
http://www.itopf.com/knowledge-resources/data-statistics/statistics/
http://thordonbearings.com
