Developments in Seawater Lubricated Propeller Shaft Bearings for

Commercial Ships
Author names: Carter, Craig D.1 (Membership: V) & Ogle, Ken2 (Membership: AM; FL)
1. Director of Marketing & Customer Service, Thordon Bearings Inc.; MBA
2. Engineering Director, Thordon Bearings Inc.; P.Eng, C.Eng, FIMarEST

Early propeller shafts operated in water lubricated lignum vitae bearings and used stuffing boxes as seals at hull
penetrations. The bearings, however, required regular replacement, and the stuffing boxes not ideal as seals.
Around 60 years ago, new seals were developed that allowed the use of white metal bearings for propeller shafts.
The technology offered a controlled environment for the bearings, which extended bearing lifespan. The weakness of
the system, though, has always been the effectiveness of the seals, which must leak some amount in operation for
cooling. Yet leakage into the stern tube causes oil emulsion and often catastrophic bearing failure, while leakage
from the stern tube results in pollution. With even the latest sealing technologies, that weakness continues; sea
pollution remains a possibility and is becoming ever-more intolerable, as witnessed by increased environmental
awareness and legislation. Improvements in water lubricated material technologies have resulted in greater choice
of materials, which can now offer improved and predictable bearing wear life. Progression of sealing technology
has also replaced the previous troublesome packing glands. Classification Societies Rules related to water
lubricated propeller shaft bearings are also undergoing revision and extended shaft withdrawal is now possible.

INTRODUCTION sheen and still need to be reported in some parts of the world
such as U.S.A. and Canada.
Over fifty years ago, propeller shafts were supported by lignum
vitae bearings, made typically of a dense wood from South In a typical sealed oil system, the bearings supporting the shaft
America and lubricated with seawater in what was called an are mounted inside a hollow tube that is sealed with a lip type
open system. The constant flow of water from the sea seal at each end and filled with mineral oil as shown in figure
lubricated the stern tube bearings and then flowed back into the 1. Typical stern tubes contain 1500L (396 US gal) of oil. Stern
sea. There was only one shaft seal in an open system and this tube propeller shaft seals are the only barrier between the oil
prevented seawater from coming into the ship. and the sea, and over time, the seals can become damaged or
worn allowing oil leakage to occur into the sea, into an
However, in that era, seawater lubricated bearings did not have onboard containment system or to the engine room bilge.
reliable wear life limits much beyond five years, which meant
withdrawing the shaft and replacing the bearings; an expensive
task. In addition, most shaft seals of the day were packed
stuffing boxes and these tended to score the bronze shaft liner
in way of the packing. That meant skimming or replacement of
the packing liner at the same time, which was another
additional cost.

Improvements in sealing technology in the 1950s encouraged

the move to an oil lubricated propeller shaft.

OIL SYSTEMS: THE GOOD & THE BAD Fig.1, Typical oil lubricated stern tube bearing system

White metal bearings offered a proven technology, which, in a
sealed oil system, provided for predictable and controlled wear
life and reduced maintenance of stern tube bearings. Two
conventional alternatives currently in use claim to be
environmentally friendly: 1) Seal manufacturers have
developed more sophisticated multi lip seals which reduce the
amount of oil that escapes, but shaft seals can still be damaged,
and oil can still escape into the sea; and 2) Biodegradable oils
are also available, but they are still an oil, many leave a
An independent study done by a New York consulting firm
showed that Total annual inputs of lubricating oil worldwide
from propeller shaft leakage into port waters is estimated to be
between 37 million to nearly 61 million litres. If the same
rates of discharge occur at sea as they do in port, the estimated
worldwide annual inputs of lubricants to marine waters both in
ports and harbours and at sea might be estimated to be about
four times the port estimate. Thus, total worldwide use of
propeller shaft lubricants from operational leaks and discharges
would then be about 130 million to 244 million litres annually

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(Environmental Research Consulting, 2010). For comparison
purposes, oil pollution from the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill
was 41.6 million litres.
At the 11th Shafting Symposium of the Society of Naval
Architects and Marine Engineers in 2006, a large shaft seal
manufacturer, Kobelco Eagle Marine Engineering Co. Ltd.,
Japan, stated that, In stern tube bearings, the radial movement
of the shaft is considerably larger than that of bearings for
general industrial application. In addition, external
disturbances such as rough seas and vibration are considerable.
It is practically impossible to seal the stern tube oil perfectly.
Therefore, one of the serious environmental issues in medium
and large commercial vessels is stern tube oil leakage. Dr.
David Gilmour of BP-Castrol Marine Lubricants, a large
supplier of stern tube oils, stated that "Environmental
legislation can only get tougher, but even well maintained and
managed ships will still leak oil."
Oil in larger quantities also leaked to the sea if the seal was
accidentally damaged due to a rope or fishing net caught on the
ships rotating shaft. A typical commercial ship will operate
6000 8000 hours per year and drydock the ship 2.5 to 5 years
for propeller shaft seal maintenance. Lloyds Register reported
the extent of seal defects of all defects in a ship: Defect
statistics over the last 20 years indicate that the aft stern bush
represents 10% of shaft line failures, with the forward stern
bush representing 4% of total failures. Interestingly, the aft
stern gland (seal) and forward stern gland (seal) represent 43%
and 24% of failures respectively (Smith, 2009).
RENAISSANCE OF WATER BASED SYSTEMS
There exists a proven, viable option for vessels to eliminate oil
discharges from the propeller shaft. Seawater lubricated
propeller shaft bearings are used by many of the worlds
Navies and Coast Guards that have almost always used
seawater for their propeller shaft bearings for safety reasons
and non-catastrophic failure mode.
Recently, new pollution regulations have also led to a return to
seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearing systems. For any
vessels trading in US waters, the vessel must not discharge oil
from any oil-to-sea interface in quantities that may be harmful
to aquatic life. According to the new US Environmental
Protection Agencys Vessel General Permit (VGP) that came
into effect December 19, 2013.
All vessels must use an environmentally acceptable
lubricant (EAL) in all oil to sea interfaces, unless
technically infeasible.
EPA recommends that all new build vessel operators
endeavor to use seawater-based systems for their stern
tube lubrication to eliminate the discharge of oil from
these interfaces to the aquatic environment
(Environmental Protection Agency, 2013).
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The IMO Polar Code, effective in 2017, states that Polar waters
will be zero discharge areas under MARPOL Annexes 1 and
2 (oil and noxious liquids). The Code states: Any discharge
into the sea of oil or oily mixtures from any ship shall be
prohibited (International Maritime Organization, 2014).
Recently, both Lloyds Register (LR), Bureau Veritas (BV) and
China Classification Society (CCS) have modified rules for
seawater lubricated propeller shaft systems, allowing the shaft
to remain in place if monitoring conditions are met. According
to LRs SCM notation for water lubricated shafts, the shaft
does not have to be withdrawn for inspection until 18 years
from the date of build. This is equal to oil lubricated prop
shaft bearings and removes a major obstacle that ship owners
had with water-based propeller shaft bearing systems.
Today however, more and more commercial ship owners are
seeing the proven performance with seawater lubricated
propeller shaft bearings. New polymer bearing materials,
shafting materials and system packages can increase bearing
wearlife and reduce ship maintenance costs. An open, seawater
lubricated propeller shaft bearing system uses seawater as the
lubrication medium in place of oil. Seawater lubricates the
non-metallic polymer propeller shaft bearings and flows back
into the sea. There are no oil discharges, as oil is not used.
These bearings eliminate the aft seal, the sole purpose of which
is to contain the oil.
When seawater lubricated propeller shaft lines are used rather
than oil lubricated shafts or pods, operating costs are reduced
substantially over the life of the vessel as there is no AFT seal,
no lubricating oil, no storage of oil, no sampling of oil and no
disposal of oil. Additionally, there are no costly seal repairs
using seal repair companies that charge US$150,000 to
US$300,000 per aft shaft seal repair.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE HYDRODYNAMIC
BEARING
Hydrodynamic lubrication is essentially the buildup of
pressure due to the action of a fluid moving into a converging
gap or wedge between two surfaces. In a journal type
bearing, this wedge arises from the eccentric position of the
shaft within the bearing. The achievement of hydrodynamic
lubrication requires three things:
Relative motion of the surfaces to be separated,
Wedging action, as provided by the shaft eccentricity, and
The presence of a suitable fluid (e.g. water, oil) (Juvinall,
1983)
In this case, the motion is provided by the shaft rotation, the
wedge as described below in figure 2, and the fluid is the
seawater lubrication.

Fig. 2, Hydrodynamic film development
The centre of the shaft is at point A, and the centre of the
bearing is at point O. The shaft is offset from the centre of the
bearing by a small amount e. This offset is known as
eccentricity (accentuated for clarity in figure 2). This
eccentricity gives rise to the wedge effect of hydrodynamic
lubrication. If you start at point G, the point of maximum film
thickness, and travel to point H, the point of minimum film
thickness, you have formed the wedge. The rotating shaft will
tend to draw lubricant into this area, and the increasing
pressure will lift the shaft off of the bearing. An important
parameter when studying hydrodynamic film generation is the
film thickness. If the film thickness is less than the combined
average height of the asperities on the bearing and shaft, then
contact between the bearing and the shaft will take place, and
the friction force will be relatively high and affected by the
inherent coefficient of friction of the bearing material. This is
the boundary regime.
If the film thickness is 1 to 3 times the average height of the
asperities, then the bearing will frequently make contact with
the shaft. This is known as the mixed regime. If the film
thickness is greater than 3 times the average height of the
asperities, then the bearing is operating in the hydrodynamic
regime. In this regime, there is very little contact between the
shaft and the bearing. Therefore, the smoother the bearing
surfaces, the easier it is for the bearing to operate in the
hydrodynamic regime. This is displayed in figure 3, the
Stribeck Curve.
Fig. 3, Stribeck Curve
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF A SEAWATER
LUBRICATED BEARING SYSTEM
a) Elastomeric Polymer Alloy Bearings
With no grooves on the bottom half of the bearing, a smooth
loaded section of the bearing is created. The advantage of a
smooth bearing, in distinction from existing water lubricated
grooved bearings, is the absence of the spaces where the water
lubricating grooves would be located. The grooves, when
present, provide a channel for the hydrodynamic pressure to
leak. The absence of the grooves in the lower section allows
the elastomeric bearing to establish a stable hydrodynamic film
at lower shaft RPM than other water lubricated materials. With
a grooved bearing, the hydrodynamic film is interrupted and
must reform at the beginning of each bearing segment. The
different pressure profiles of the elastomeric and grooved
bearing are illustrated in figure 4.
Fig. 4, Pressure profiles
The elastomeric polymer bearing is also available with a single
key bearing design. The single key design has a number of
advantages. The most important advantage is the single key
design allows the bearing to be removed for inspection or
replacement without removing the shaft or carrier. With a strut
propulsion system, the propeller does not need to be removed
as the bearings can be pulled forward.
In figure 5, the bearing is split axially in a single key design.
On one side of the bearing (at the 9 oclock position) the
segments push against each other and on the other side (at the 3
oclock position) the bearing is held in place by a single
tapered key. The key is comprised of two parts mating on a
taper a fixed lower section and a removable upper section.
Fig. 5, Elastomeric polymer alloy propeller shaft bearing in
bronze carrier
To remove the bearings, the retaining rings are removed and
the top removable section of the key is extracted, removing the
interference hoop stress on the bearing. With the interference
hoop stress removed, the top sections of the bearings are
removed as shown in figure 6. With top section removed, the
shaft is then lifted off of the bottom sections of the bearing and
the bottom sections can then be removed.

Fig. 7, Typical water quality package

b) Shaft Liners and Shaft Corrosion Protection

Globally, polymer shaft bearings operate successfully on a
variety of shaft liner materials and with a number of different
shaft corrosion protection methods and products. Traditional
shaft corrosion protection coatings have been considered the
Achilles heel to the open water system due to their tendency
to develop cracks during service operations. Existing marine
Fig. 6, Elastomeric bearing re-install on Disney Magic at epoxy systems use fiberglass tape in an attempt to produce a
Norshipco reliable covering.

The polymer bearings require a minimum water flow for In 2006, a toughened, modified epoxy coating, designed to
cooling and the standard requirement is 0.15 litres per minute provide 10-year integrity was introduced, as is shown in figure
per mm (1 U.S. gal. per minute per inch) of shaft diameter. 8. It is applied to exposed steel areas of the shaft between the
The recommended method of supplying water to the stern tube liners to eliminate the need for a 5-year shaft withdrawal. In
is with a dedicated pump to supply minimum water flow the event of damage, seawater cannot wick under the coating
requirements at all shaft speeds; a flow sensor should be along the shaft and the epoxy coating is spot repairable.
provided to activate an alarm in event of low flow. Normally,
seawater supplied to the bearing should be as cool as possible,
not preheated from cooling other equipment, and water above
40C (104F) should be avoided. For strut bearings, water flow
is normally provided by the motion of the vessel relative to the
water and there needs to be sufficient openings at the forward
and aft ends of the strut to encourage sufficient water flow
through the bearing.

An important consideration in the wear life performance of any

bearing system is the quality of the lubrication in which the
bearing operates in this case, the supplied seawater.
Removal of abrasive particles significantly extends the wear
life of the bearing and polymer bearing experience indicates
that filtration to 150m, or preferably 100m, can extend
bearing life to beyond 15 or even 20 years.
Fig.8, Anti-corrosion shaft coating
c) Forward Seal
The seawater lubricated bearing system can be run in
conjunction with any water lubricated forward seal.

A Water Quality Package includes pumps, cyclonic separators, BEARING FAILURE MODES
and automation as a plug-n-play unit, as shown in figure 7.
The separators are rated to remove particles greater than 80m
The following modes of failure have been investigated and
with specific density greater than 1.2. The collected debris is
automatically purged overboard on a timed basis. likely causes; means of prevention and methods of monitoring
are described.

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1) Adhesive Wear This is characterized by the shaft
rubbing on the bearing surface, abrading material from the
bearing surface resulting in a gradual increase in bearing
clearances.
Adhesive wear is minimized by proper design and operation of
the bearing system. It is important that the shaft is operating
hydrodynamically during normal ship operations. This is
accomplished by operating the shafting above the minimum
rotational speed required to generate a hydrodynamic film. The
speed at which the system enters hydrodynamic operation is
dependent upon the shaft diameter and bearing pressure.
The effect of long-term adhesive wear is characterized by a
gradual loss of bearing material and an increase in bearing
clearance. This is demonstrated by a change in poker gauge
readings indicating this occurrence.
Additionally, if temperature monitoring were provided, there
would be some increase in the bearing temperature as a result
of the additional frictional heat generated; however the
increase would be within established acceptable limits.
2) Abrasive Wear This type of wear is caused by third
particles becoming trapped or passing through the space
between the shaft and the bearing. The wear can either occur
on the shaft liner and/or on the bearing surface.
The means to prevent third particle abrasive wear is to remove
the most damaging third particle abrasives prior to them
entering the bearing system. This is accomplished by
incorporating a conditioning method, which removes third
particle abrasives from the cooling water stream to the bearing.
Removal of particles down to 80 micron in size has been
demonstrated to be successful in extending the wear life.
Monitoring the bearing wear through regular monitoring of
poker gauge readings to ascertain wear in the bearing shaft
interface assesses the effectiveness of removing the 3rd particle
abrasives in controlling abrasive wear.
The forward end of the bracket bearings is open to the sea, and
seawater may flow into the annulus space between the shaft
and the housing and mix with the supplied water to the bearing.
Practice has shown that this ingress has had negligible effect
on the wear of the bearing or shaft.
3) Bearing Material Overheating The shaft
generates heat within the bearing during operation due to the
shearing action within the water. As the surface of the bearing
approaches 60C (140F), the surface of the bearing will
soften, allowing higher wear rates. As the temperature exceeds
60C (140F) for extended periods of time, the surface of the
bearing will crack and chemically degrade.
To prevent overheating of the bearing surface, a continuous
flow of water through the bearing in sufficient quantities is
necessary to remove the heat generated. Provided this is
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maintained, overheating of the bearing material should not
occur.
Flow switches fitted on the supply line to the bearings monitor
water flow to the bearings. An alarm is provided if there is a
reduction in the supply significant enough to result in possible
overheating. If overheating does occur then accelerated wear
can take place, which would be indicated by an increase in the
clearance within the bearing, which would show up on the
poker gauge readings.
The bearing could also overheat due to extended operation at
speeds below the threshold necessary to generate a
hydrodynamic film. The will result in a higher wear rate and is
limited by operating within acceptable speed limits.
In either case the overheating will not result in seizing of the
shaft in the bearing.
4) Bearing Segments Turning if the bearing
segments turned in the housings or if they were installed
incorrectly, the hydrodynamic performance of the bearing
would decrease. The minimum speed for achieving a
hydrodynamic film would increase thus increasing the
likelihood of adhesive wear.
The bearing segments are prevented from turning by the
mechanical means of fitting a key, which is bolted into the
housing. The other likelihood would be incorrect fitting of the
segments resulting in the grooves being fit on the lower
section. Instructions are provided for the fit and orientation of
the segments and orientation of the segments is documented
prior to the fitting of the bearings into the ship.
If, however, the segments are in the incorrect orientation, then
it is likely that the bearing would operate satisfactorily but
would wear at an accelerated rate, which would be indicated in
the poker gauge readings.
5) Corrosion of Shafting the mild steel shaft is subject
to corrosion in the presence of seawater. The shaft can be
protected from corrosion in a number of ways, including
making the shaft from a non-corrosive material; providing a
non-corrosive metal overlay on the shaft; fitting non corrosive
liners over the length of the exposed area; or fitting non
corrosive liners in way of the bearings and a protective coating
over the remainder of the exposed surface.
Should a protective coating be used, the coating can be
inspected visually during a docking as the shafting is exposed
for inspection and evaluation of the surface.
6) Mechanical Damage to the Shaft Surface
mechanical damage can occur to the shaft and bearing surface
through entry of foreign objects from outside the bearing
space. This would be typically being in the form of ropes or
floating debris within the water.
This type of damage is normally reduced by the proper design
of fairwaters and rope guards.
If this did occur, it would result in wear in the bearing, which
would be indicated by an increase in the poker gauge clearance
readings.
CURRENT COMMERCIAL SHIP USERS AND
RESULTS
Seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearing systems are
extensively used in many Naval and Coast Guard vessels.
Today, commercial ship owners and operators around the
world have chosen seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearing
systems for its pollution-free simplicity and proven reliability.
There are over 2,000 ships equipped with water lubricated
propeller shaft bearings plus many on order.
Bearing wear life predictability of today is in line with a sealed
oil system using modern elastomeric polymer bearing
materials, new shaft coatings and a water quality package.
Recent bearing wear measurements taken from large ships that
were installed with seawater lubricated stern tube bearings in
the late 1990s show that bearing life is expected to be 20 years
or more. After 16 years of operation on these ships, no
bearings have been replaced due to wear, no shafts have been
withdrawn, and zero oil has been lost to the oceans and seas.
Fig. 9, Wear life chart of seawater lubricated bearings for
Princess Cruises cruise ship
One of the largest ship owners in the world, Chinas COSCO,
has orders for 17 seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearing
systems for a 90,000dwt semi-submersible heavy transport
vessel, three 50,000dwt semi-submersibles, four 36,000dwt
bulk carriers, three 50,000dwt bulk carriers, two bulk carriers,
four AHTS vessels, a 2D seismic vessel, a 28,000dwt heavy-
lift ship and a 12,800dwt bitumen tanker.
Of the 30 cruise ships that are currently on order, 1/3 of them
will be equipped with seawater lubricated propeller shaft lines
requiring no oil and no aft seal, eliminating high operating
maintenance costs. Past users of this technologyPrincess
Cruises and Disney Cruise Linesbegan equipping their ships
in 1998 and continue today with recent newbuildings using
seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearings. Other cruise lines
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such as Seabourne Cruise Lines, Oceania, Viking Ocean
Cruises, Regent Seven Seas and MSC Cruises are also building
ships with seawater lubricated propeller shaft systems. Other
vessel types such as oil tankers, bulk carriers, dry cargo and
ferries have installed seawater lubricated propeller shaft
systems for the following ship owners: Carisbrooke Shipping
(UK), Grimaldi Group (Italy), Flinter Groningen
(Netherlands), CSL International (Canada), Atlantska Plovidba
(Croatia), U.S. Gypsum Corp. (USA), BC Ferries (Canada),
Tidewater (USA), Palmali Shipping (Turkey), Blue Star
Ferries (Greece), NY Dept of Transportation -Staten Island
Ferries (USA), ConocoPhillips (USA) and BP Shipping (UK).
CONVERSIONS OF EXISTING SHIPSWHAT
TO LOOK FOR
Existing ships can also be converted to seawater-lubricated
propeller shaft systems as these systems typically fit in the
same space as an oil lubricated system. Several companies
have converted their existing ships from oil lubricated systems
to seawater lubricated shafts. The ship owners report reduced
operating costs as they have no purchases of stern tube
lubricants and aft seal maintenance costs are eliminated. The
oil-to-seawater conversion is accomplished during a planned
drydock where corrosion resistant shaft liners and a water
lubricated forward seal were pre-ordered and the shaft and
non-metallic bearings were ready for install when the ship
drydocked.
CONCLUSION
We have identified several component and process
technologies that, based on performance data from Commercial
vessels, can offer significant advantages. Low friction
bearings and increased bearing wear life with complementary
technologies that offer corrosion protection and improved
monitoring and inspection techniques all meet objectives of
reducing operational costs and improving performance of
commercial vessels. With new regulations that the vessel
must not discharge oil from any oil-to-sea interface in
quantities that may be harmful to aquatic life, vessel operators
can be totally compliant by using a seawater lubricated bearing
system. Ships trading in the worlds oceans and seas can now
eliminate both operational and accidental stern tube oil
pollution while reducing ship owner maintenance costs and
saving money over the service life of the ship.
REFERENCES
Environmental Protection Agency. (2013). Final 2013 Vessel
General Permit. Retrieved from
http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/npdes/vessels/upload/vg
p_permit2013.pdf, pg.47
Environmental Research Consulting. (2010). Worldwide
Analysis of In-Port Vessel Operational
Discharges and Leakages. Cortlandt Manor, NY:
Etkin, Dagmar Schmidt.
Gilmour, Dr. David, BP-Castrol Marine Lubricants,
Biodegradable Range, Seatrade, Jan./Feb. 2008, pg.91

International Maritime Organization. (2014.) Shipping in polar

waters. Retrieved from
http://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/polar/
Pages/default.aspx

Juvinall, Robert C. (1983). Fundamentals of Machine

Component Design. Michigan: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Kobelco Eagle Marine Engineering Co. Ltd., Japan. (2006).
Proceedings from 11th Shafting Symposium of the
Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers: An
Environmentally Compatible Lubricant for Stern Tube
Shafting and Bearing Systems. Williamsburg, VA:
Sada, Hiroytuki; Yamajo, Seiji; Hawkins, David W.
& Kawazoe, Tsuyoshi.

Smith, Andrew. Lloyds Register Global Technology Leader-

Engineering Systems. Shaft Alignment Problems
Analyzed, Marine Engineers Review, April 2009,
pg.16

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