Why consider a complete and smart set of stern tubes, bearings and seals?

It is a trend that clearly can be observed: in favor ship owners buy complete sets of stern tubes, bearings and seals over separate parts. The reasons why? Briese Shipping BV chose Lagersmit to equip a serie of new build vessels with a package of state-of-the-art seals, bearings and additional stern tube technology.

Briese Shipping BV has a clear vision on shipbuilding, goes for solid products and strives to reduce the total costs of ownership. How to reach this? Proven products that offer the right endurance and monitoring functions. This is one of the reasons why Briese Shipping BV choses a complete set of Lagersmit bearings, seals and the Supreme Ventus air type system. It is an easily overlooked matter but using a perfectly attuned set of stern tubes, bearings and seals ensures:

• A complete delivery of perfectly compatible parts
• One single contact point
• Easy installation

Condition monitoring

Briese Shipping BV chose to complete the package with the Supreme Ventus system because it can monitor several vital functions of the seal and stern tube system. The importancy is obvious: operational feedback prevents surprises and ensures a stable performance of the system. Through the Supreme Ventus system, Briese Shipping BV ensures 24/7 feedback on:

• Bearing clearance
• Temperatures
• Oil or water leakage drains into the vessel

VGP compliance

An additional reason for Briese Shipping BV to choose Supreme Ventus is because it’s a simple way to comply with the VGP regulations. The Supreme Ventus ensures zero emissions of oil because it eliminates the oil-to-water interface with an air barrier and drains leakages safely into an internal drain tank. This makes the system suitable for use with mineral oil even in VGP controlled waters.

Lagersmit was honoured to equip a serie of four new build vessels for Briese Shipping BV with seals, bearings, wear down and temperature sensors and the Supreme Ventus air system. Driven by the demand for expertise and technical knowledge, the collaboration has been established under great satisfaction for several years now.

As Peter Edelenbosch – Fleet Manager with Briese Shipping BV – comments: ‘We have excellent experience working together with Lagersmit in our latest new building projects. Especially the dedicated support, technical knowledge and durable sealing solutions contributed to the success of the new building projects.’

After the completed successful new build projects, the joint teams looked into several retrofit opportunities where existing systems were upgraded or refitted to Supreme Ventus.

‘We are very happy with the cooperation with Briese Shipping BV, especially how our teams worked together to achieve the right solutions on paper and in practice. The team of Briese Shipping BV kept us sharp throughout the projects which also challenges our team to keep improving ourselves’, comments Bart van Lee - Account Manager with Lagersmit and responsible for this project.

More information on the equipment used

Lagersmit stern tube systems are designed for oil and grease lubrication. A major advantage of this system is the easy installation and alignment, by means of resin casting. Using this method, the stern tube is relative easily connected with the structure of the vessel.

Today, the Supreme Ventus air type seal is the most chosen seal type in new build and retrofit situations. This durable and self-regulating sealing solution guarantees zero emissions of oil and it is verified by DNV GL to be in line with the VGP regulations. The system exists out of only one additional component: a compact plug & play Air Control Unit that is fitted in the engine room. As the Supreme Ventus offers a smart pressure compensation function it ensures that lip seals have an easy life. The benefit? Low Cost of Ownership as wear and tear is minimised. To underline this promise, Lagersmit offers an additional 5-year warranty on the system (ask for details).

Lagersmit’s ultimate goal with these products? To ensure Peace of Mind and keep its customers going, 24/7 and worldwide! More information about the complete set of stern tube, bearings and seals? Contact our sealing experts or join the Lagersmit team during the Posidonia in Athens from June 1st till the 5th.