The shipyard in Genoa, Italy is scheduled to take delivery of Thordon’s COMPAC open seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearing system for installation to the second ship in Oceania’s Allura class: Oceania Allura. The vessel is scheduled to join the line’s fleet in 2025.
Oceania Allura
The twin screw Oceania Allura will feature three COMPAC bearings per shaft to fit propeller shaft diameters of 510mm (20.7in.) The same scope was supplied to the 67,000gt first in class, Oceania Vista, which was delivered in May.
Seawater-lubricated 505mm (19.8in) COMPAC bearings were installed on the 65,000gt Oceania Marina and Oceania Riviera, which the shipyard delivered in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Stefano Resaz, sales manager at Pedrotec, Thordon’s authorized distributor in Italy, who has been working closely with Fincantieri for more than 25 years, said: ‘When these first two vessels were built, Oceania Cruises…decided to build two new ships on the same propulsion platform. We are delighted they have chosen COMPAC once again.’
Explora Journeys
Thordon Bearings’ seawater-lubricated propeller shaft packages have also been selected for ships being built at the yard for Explora Journeys – MSC Group's luxury cruise brand. A COMPAC package has already been installed on Explora I and is specified for Explora II. Orders for the third and fourth vessels in the series are also anticipated.
Two years ago, MSC Seashore was delivered from Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard with a COMPAC bearing system – this followed on from the similarly equipped MSC Seaside and MSC Seaview, delivered in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Fewer components, reduces costs
Thordon’s relationship will Fincantieri dates back to 1998, reflecting ‘an ever-wider take-up of seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearings for cruise ship,’ according to the company’s regional manager – Southern Europe and Middle East, Malcolm Barratt.
Barratt explained that ‘COMPAC is the natural choice for cruise owners. It is less complicated than traditional oil-lubricated options to build and operate, there are fewer components, and there is less that can go wrong. It cuts operational and maintenance costs significantly. Several cruise ship operators have been operating with the same COMPAC propeller shaft bearings for more than 20 years.’
There are now more than 50 cruise ships around the world equipped with COMPAC. In addition to MSC vessels, these include orders for ships under construction for Regent Seven Seas and Viking Ocean Cruises.
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