We are often asked to complete machining repairs and alignment surveys for a number of different car ferry companies. Stena Europe recently found that one of their car ferries had suffered extensive wear in the lower housing bore for the bow thruster drive shaft. This was discovered whilst the ferry was having a routine dry dock inspection. Stena Europe got in touch with us very quickly and we were able to send a team of our on-site engineers to survey the problem almost immediately.

The best solution to the damage caused involved boring out the existing bow thruster housing so it would accept a sleeve. This sleeve would then be machined to return the housing to its original dimensions.

To achieve this solution we first used one of our heavy duty line boring bars so that we were replicating the exact position of the bow thruster shaft. This allowed us to check the exact level of angularity between the drive shaft and bow thruster shaft before we began work on the housing. Luckily, it was all aligned perfectly.

Once we had devised a solution to the problem, we were able to carry out the necessary in-situ machining repair. Our on site boring equipment is very adaptable and easy to set up. As a result we were able to quickly bore the inner edge of the bow thruster housing and fit the sleeve to return the housing to its original diameter.

Once the work was completed Stena Europe were able to get the ferry back on the water and back to full operation almost immediately.

If you’d like any more information about our work in the car ferry industry, or if you’d like to know more about our marine machining services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.