Environmental Advance in Prop Shaft Sealing Technology
With over 35,000 propeller shaft seal installations behind them, Ocean Venture Seals (OVS) has developed a new, environmentally friendly Eco-Seal which claims major advancement of propeller shaft sealing technology as its design means there is no leakage to the environment from the propeller shaft and no contamination of the sterntube oil by seawater. Any small leakages of oil or water are contained in the Eco-Seals casing and drained inboard, with any leaked fluids being handled as bilge water.
Colin Drew, OVS sales and marketing director said, ‘As well as providing commercial and environmental gains for shipowners, the Eco-Seals’s green design puts to rest the image of vessels polluting the environment with a thin line of oil following the ship everywhere it sails. With the spotlight of ever tightening environmental legislation regularly being aimed at shipping, shipowners are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of keeping legislators on-side.’
Eco-Seal has fully split construction allowing all repair and maintenance activities to be carried out with the propeller and propeller shaft remaining in place. In many cases the seal can be repaired underwater. On site repair avoids costly towing and drydocking charges.
The seal has an extremely high resistance to damage and failure due to ingress of foreign material and the design of the seal also allows large axial movements of the propeller shaft due to thermal expansion without any alteration in sealing face pressure. This enables the optimum balance between sealing function and low wear rates.
The Eco-Seal can be adapted to fit almost any type of ship in the upper range of the workboat market.
MJ Information No: 195111
