When an oil leak prevented a 225 metre bulker from continuing its sailing schedule, a Hydrex diver-technician team mobilized to Manila together with one of the company’s flexible mobdocks to perform emergency underwater repairs at anchorage.
A typhoon was crossing over the Philippines at the time the team arrived and after preparations had been made the storm grew to a climax. Unfortunately this meant that the Hydrex divers could only continue the underwater operation after a day, when the weather had improved slightly and full safety could be guaranteed for the divers.
Still under terrible sea conditions the rope guard was removed and an inspection revealed that a fishing net had been caught in the assembly and was tangled up around the entirety of the seals. A spacer ring was then installed to push the housing of the seals further from the stern tube and over a new running area for the seals. The flexible mobdock was then installed, creating a dry working environment for the divers at a depth of twelve metres.
The net was then removed and the entire assembly was cleaned before the damaged seals were replaced one by one. The spacer ring that the team had installed earlier made sure that the new seals covered a different running area with no wear down.
Everything was then reassembled and secured with wire. After a leakage test was successfully performed, the rope guard was welded on again and anodes were installed around the area of the housing to provide additional protection for the stern tube seals.
The lightweight flexible mobdock packed in flight containers allowed for a very fast mobilization and a timely arrival of the Hydrex team. Forced to halt the repair during the peak of the typhoon, the team worked through the rest of the storm to make sure that the delay for the customer was kept to an absolute minimum. Very strict safety measures were taken during the entire operation, as is the case with every job Hydrex performs. By creating a dry environment underwater, the divers were able to carry out any required work in-situ. This saved the owner the time and money which going to drydock would have entailed.
