Two of the blades had a bend in the aft direction to 45º, the line of bend being some 400mm in from the tips. A third blade had a 300mm section missing and was also bent aft by approximately 25º.

The following day the team returned and, liaising with the classification society, removed all five propeller blade tips in order to restore hydrodynamic balance. All sections cut were within a 0.5kg tolerance.

The vessel went for trials which revealed an end to vibration and only a minor loss of speed.

UMC's divers in Rotterdam were also called upon to inspect propeller damage, carrying out an underwater CCTV inspection on a 27,308dwt bulker which confirmed extensive damage to all four blades and a 100mm long crack in a weld on the rudder at the upper pintle area.

Divers cropped out a 610mm bend to one propeller blade then transferred the cutting template to the opposing blade and proceeded to remove that tip also. This was repeated on the two remaining blades, restoring hydrodynamic balance to the propeller. Divers then drilled arresting holes to the crack on the rudder as per the specification agreed on site.

A specialist diving team from UMC's Dubai and Fujairah offices have carried out a hull plate insert repair to a 265,322dwt tanker at Fujairah anchorage. The divers first located a crack on side shell plating and drilled through it to identify the location internally.

Unfortunately the area was coincidental with an internal frame and a longitudinal.

The repair team cropped out the frame and longitudinal, allowing free access to remove an agreed 600mm by 600mm section of the side plating.

Divers placed a UMC cofferdam on the exterior of the ship and evacuated water from within to facilitate removal of the defective plating.

New plating was inserted as per procedures for which UMC has class approval and the welding was subjected to non-destructive testing. With the insert passed, the internal frame and longitudinal were reinstated and the repair work given 'permanent' status by the class surveyor.

MJ Information No: 17902