Refitting ships on Suez Canal
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has replaced the rubber cutterhead bearings on the 102 m (335 ft) dredger "Mahmoud Younis" with a water-lubricated composite.
The retrofit, which took place at the Port Said Shipyard’s floating drydock, follows the success of a similar installation aboard CSD "Mashhour", the largest dredger in the SCA fleet. Its rubber cutterhead bearings were replaced last year, providing the first Thordon installation with the Authority.
"Mahmoud Younis", named after the SCA’s former chairman and capable of dredging down to depths of 25.3 m (83 ft), was fitted with a 600 mm (23.6 in) outside diameter Thordon composite bearing in August.
The bearing was machined and finished by Alexandria-based Nefertiti Marine, Thordon Bearings’ authorised distributor in Egypt, prior to being freeze-fitted to the vessel’s cutterhead during a scheduled drydocking. (cd)