Hydrex repairs propeller blades

The vessel needed a fast onsite solution from Hydrex as its entire five propeller blades were severely bent and cracked. Divers installed a monitoring station and went on board the vessel to discuss the details of the repair with the captain and chief engineer.

The quick underwater operation began with a thorough survey of the damaged blades where fouling, stress fractures and cracks of up to 15mm deep were found.

The Hydrex team repaired the blades with grinding work to remove the cracks, smoothing to create a hydrodynamic profile on the trailing edges and used the in-house developed hydraulic cold straightening machine during the operation.

A full inspection of the repaired blades was carried out for the attending ABS surveyor and the captain of the vessel. The unique underwater operation carried out by Hydrex restored the propeller’s balance and efficiency and saved a costly and time consuming drydock visit for the owner of the vessel.