marine bearings

Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina -  The waters of the Parana River tend to be wide and deep, with significant suspended debris and sand. Due to these abrasive conditions, rudder bearings on tug boats operating on the river are susceptible to rapid wear. The result is frequent dry docking for repairs. In response, Vesconite bushings have been successfully fitted to 20 tug boats working the Parana River. The combination of exceptionally low wear, self-lubrication and easy installation makes it an ideal material for this application.

Vesconite for Marine Applications

Vesconite, and Vesconite Hilube in particular, are ideal for the submerged and corrosive conditions of the marine industry. Suited to both dry and underwater applications, Vesconite’s internal lubricants allow for prolonged life where the setting is characterized by irregular greasing schedules, or no greasing at all. Unlike most bearing materials, Vesconite offers long wear life and a high load-bearing capacity with no distortion or delamination, despite the wet and abrasive working environment. Vesconite is easily removed and refitted, saving in costly downtime.

Thordon Bearings designs and manufactures a complete range of high performance, non-metallic journal bearing solutions for marine, pump, hydro-turbine, offshore oil and other industrial markets.

From water lubricated stern tube and rudder bearings for ships to grease free wicket gate bearings for clean power generation, Thordon provides innovative non-polluting bearing solutions that meet or exceed the technical requirements of your application.

Since the first Thordon bearing was developed in 1966, Thordon has continuously improved its high performance polymer technologies and bearing designs to become the world leader in elastomeric bearing technology. Our applications engineering and global technical support teams can support your most unique bearing technical challenges.