Thordon fits second ro-ro with ThorPlas-Blue
The work on board Forsea Ferries’ Tycho Brahe follows an earlier successful installation to the bow doors of Aurora, the first of two high-intensity battery-operated ferries converted by Sweden’s Oresund Drydocks (ODD) and delivered in 2016.
It was the first ever installation of a Thordon self-lubricating bearing to the bow doors of a ro-ro ferry. “Aurora and her sister ship Tycho Brahe are the first ferries of this size running on 100% battery power,” explained Christian Andersson, senior chief engineer, Aurora. “This is a huge sustainable benefit as we save about 23,000 tonnes of CO2, 13 tonnes of NOx and 5 tonnes of SOx being emitted to the atmosphere each year,” he added.
The 32 tonne bow doors are opened and closed 48 times a day leading to seizing and cracking of the bronze-type bushings. “We don’t have this problem with ThorPlas-Blue,” said Mr Andersson. We are now looking at Thordon’s water-lubricated and grease-free bearings for more applications in other vessels in the fleet.”
Built in 1991 and 1992 respectively, the 111m Tycho Brahe and Aurora operate fully on battery power on the route between Helsingborg in Sweden and Helsingør in Denmark. The vessels use a battery recharging point at each port for five minutes to provide enough power for the twenty-minute crossing.
