Finnish maritime company Wärtsilä has introduced a new seal that can be fully serviced underwater, without setting up a habitat[ds_preview]. »The Sternguard In-Water Serviceable Seal is the first product of its kind on the market, offering customers increased uptime and lifecycle efficiency«, Wärtsilä stated. It is available for stern tubes and thrusters. »We understand that the first priority of our customers is uptime, and they naturally want to avoid unnecessary disruptions«, Damian O’Toole, Director Seals and Bearings from Wärtsilä, said. The seal could be used to retrofit any other type of seal and is available for merchant, offshore, IWW and cruise & ferry vessel types, running on Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EALs) or mineral oils. Retrofit and service in dry dock can be carried out without removing the propeller or shaft, and it is not necessary to drain oil from the stern tube for underwater overhaul.
