Thordon Supplies Bearings For Suez Dredge

Ontario, Canada-based Thordon Bearings Inc. has announced that the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has replaced the rubber cutterhead bearings aboard the dredge Mahmoud Younis with a water-lubricated composite bearing from Thordon.

The retrofit, conducted at Port Said Shipyard’s drydock near where the Suez Canal meets the Mediterranean Sea, follows a similar installation aboard SCA’s largest dredge, the Mashhour, a year ago.

The Mahmoud Younis, named for SCA’s former chairman, is a 335-foot cutterhead suction dredge capable of dredging to a depth of 83 feet. The vessel was outfitted with the 23.6-inch Thordon composite bearing in August. The bearing was machined and finished by Nefertiti Marine, Thordon’s authorized distributor in Alexandria, Egypt. The bearing was then freeze-fitted to the Mahmoud Younis’ cutterhead during a scheduled drydocking.

“Mashhour has been operating flawlessly for 12 months with the Thordon composite bearing,” said Khaled Youssef, SCA fleet manager. “In that short period of time, we have experienced reduced vessel operating costs and less downtime compared to the previous installation. The composite bearing is more environmentally friendly since it does not require any lubricating grease.”

Building off its first two projects with SCA, Thordon and Nefertiti Marine are now working to replace propeller and rudder bearings aboard other Suez Canal Authority vessels with Thordon’s long-wearing, water-lubricated elastomeric polymer technology.

SCA’s dredging department maintains the ship channel in the Suez Canal. SCA’s fleet includes five cutterhead suction dredges and three self-propelled hopper suction dredges, along with barges, tugs, pilot boats and floating cranes. SCA vessels also provide dredging services at ports in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East.