Dordrecht based Maprom, working with main contractors ENERIA Cat in Romania and the Pon Power Marine Excellence Centre at Papendrecht in the Netherlands, is delivering water lubricated closed systems, sterntube bearings and seals, water lubricated propeller shaft seals and stave bearings, intermediate shaft bearings, propeller shafts, rope guards, and lube system components such as pumps, flow switches and level switches. Maprom also provides construction engineering, general arrangement drawings, installation, after sales service, and all the rolling alignment calculations for the propeller shaft system to obtain Germanischer Lloyd classification.

The upgrade of the vessels involves a complete strip out of the engine rooms, new steel plate, and a pair of new Caterpillar 3512 marine diesels for each boat, producing 1,675hp per shaftline at 291rpm. The works also include new propellers and nozzles supplied by Van Voorden.

Troublesome grease lubricated drive shafts have been replaced by Maprom's cost effective and environmentally sound water lubricated closed stern tube system, created by installing both a forward and aft seal on each end of the stern tube. With more barriers against the ingress of contaminated water, the service life of liners, bearings and seals is greatly extended, with Maprom's bearings being known to last well beyond 100,000 hours.

The first boat to be completed, the 40m LOA Mercur 301, underwent extremely successful sea trials on the River Danube last month. The vessel's speed was doubled from its former incarnation as Issacea 14, fuel consumption is dramatically reduced, and the vessel is now in full compliance with IMO CCNR emissions regulations.

With the Danube flowing at 9 km/hr, Mercur 301 pushed a 310m long sea trial train comprised of six barges fully loaded with 17,000 tons of ore at 19 km/hr downstream and 10 km/hr upstream. In a remarkable crash test, Mercur 301 stopped the train from full speed ahead downstream in only 500m and was also able to effect a 3600 turn more or less on the spot.

The subsequent seven conversions will come into service over the remainder of this year, with Maprom supplying each vessel with two shaftlines, each including one propeller shaft and two intermediate shafts for a total of 13.5m per shaftline.

MJ Information No: 22001