Colombo Dockyard’s Rapid Response Afloat Repair Services (RRARS) division recently attended to the bulk carrier, Pavo Brave, which entangled its propeller with a steel buoy in Bangladesh, thereby shutting propulsion down immediately. The vessel’s management company, MMS Co. Ltd, Japan, contacted the yard’s parent company, Onomichi Dockyard, and sought its assistance. Thereafter Colombo Dockyard arranged safe berthing at Hambantota Port and got ready to repair the propulsion system.
RRARS has developed a proven method of commencing shaft line repairs while afloat and this approach was proposed for this project. With the experience of carrying out a similar exercise on several other bulk carriers, Colombo Dockyard successfully convinced MMS to undertake repairs without docking at Hambantota port.
The vessel was towed to Hambantota where Colombo Dockyard’s planning team decided to remove the propeller and lay it on the pier to carry out the repair, due to the deformations of the propeller that were observed. The team removed the intermediate shaft and the tail shaft, inspected and measured the stern tube bearing and contact area of the tail shaft, all which were found to be within the required parameters, as the ship had managed to take immediate action to avoid further damage at the initial stage of contact with buoy.
In parallel, the propeller’s damage was assessed by the RRARS team, followed by NDT testing, after which the necessary repairs and fairing process commenced under controlled conditions. After bringing the blades to the designed profile, the propeller was tested and fitted back onboard under the supervision of Class NK, the vessel’s classification society.
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